Together
by NetKat
Summary: I explore Loki's early life a little bit, and Sarah wraps up her life on Earth. (4th of 5 stories: Love, Sarah, Alone, Together, Asgard)
1. Chapter 1

***working on rewriting this, so it's probably going to change a bit***

Chapter 1

When Loki woke up, he and Sarah, both naked, still had their arms wrapped around each other. He stared at her, loving her, needing her. He buried his face in her hair, being careful not to wake her, and he inhaled deeply.

He kissed the top of her head, inhaled deeply one more time, then moved his head a little so his face was no longer in her hair.

Loki let his mind wander, as he usually did when he had some time to himself. He thought about the story he had been told about being taken home, and he thought about the prophecy his mother, Frigga, had been given when she brought him to the Seer. The prophecy he had known, but Frigga had filled him in on the rest while he was in Asgardian prison.

* * *

Frigga held the supposedly Jötunn baby that Odin had brought home from his most recent battle. Frigga's blond hair hung over her shoulder in a braid. "He was left out in the cold to die," Odin had told her, "so I grabbed him. I think this was meant to be, my wife. He turned pink as soon as my skin touched his."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "This is not another one of your 'little love flowers,' I believe you called Thor, is it?"

"No, wife. Look at him," Odin told her. "Look at his face, his hair. This is clearly not a child grown from my seed."

Looking down at the baby in her arms, Frigga felt her heart melt, the same way it had when Odin had brought home Thor. The baby's eyes were open, and Frigga could feel the baby's intelligence behind them, even at such a tender, young age. His eyes were a light blue, similar to Earth's sky on a cloudless day. Odin was right; this baby clearly was not his. "He is Laufey's, Frigga. I am sure of it."

Sighing, Frigga stood up and looked at her husband. "Go get that eye taken care of. I'll care for the baby."

Odin nodded, then turned toward the door.

"Does he have a name?" Frigga asked.

Odin turned back around. "I sort of like the name 'Loki,'" he responded. The baby turned his head in Odin's direction and watched as the All-Father walked away.

"Loki?" Frigga said to the baby. He turned to look up at Frigga. "Do you like the name Loki?" She asked. The baby cooed and smiled. She gently kissed his forehead. "Are you hungry?" she asked the baby. "Let's go find you a wet-nurse, then I'll take you to the Seer."

As Frigga started to get up, there was a gentle knock at the door. "Come," she said, and a young woman with swollen breasts entered.

"Odin said that you are in need of a wet-nurse," she said, staring down at her breasts.

Frigga handed the baby to the girl, and gestured for her to sit down in Frigga's rocking chair. As soon as the girl offered baby Loki her breast, he immediately latched on, greedily sucking nourishment from the woman.

"He is very eager," the woman told Frigga, cringing slightly.

"He was...ill cared for before he was given to me. What is your name?" Frigga asked her.

"Luna," she answered.

"Luna," Frigga repeated. "This is Loki. Where is your baby?" Frigga asked.

Shaking her head, Luna looked sad. "I lost it," she said simply.

Frigga felt sympathy for the woman sitting in her chair. She had never lost a baby, but many of her friends had over the years. They sat in silence for about 20 minutes, an occasional sucking noise coming from the baby.

"When you are finished, we can go visit the Seer, then prepare the nursery," Frigga told Luna. Luna smiled, then cringed.

Frigga raised her eyebrow, and Luna explained, "He is still trying to get food, but I think that it is empty."

"Let me change his diaper, then you can put him on your other breast," Frigga said, taking the baby from Luna.

Frigga found some old washcloths, and made a quick diaper out of them. She used another washcloth and some water to clean him, then she bundled him back up and returned baby Loki to Luna.

The baby fell asleep on Luna's breast, eating even as he slept. She handed the sleeping baby to Frigga after he stopped. She bundled him up, holding him so he could snuggle into her. "I will show you the nursery. You can decorate however you would like; I am going to take him to the Seer alone," she whispered.

Luna nodded. The Seer made her very uncomfortable, but one did not argue with the queen. She was relieved to be allowed to stay behind.

* * *

Frigga carried her new baby out to the Seer's cottage. It was not a long walk, but few people made the journey. Few people wanted to know their future, even when it was as cryptic as what the seer said. Frigga only went because she knew Odin would want her to.

Holding baby Loki close, Frigga knocked gently on the door. "Come, Frigga," a raspy voice called from inside the cottage. "Over here," the voice called from Frigga's left.

"Let me hold him," she rasped as Frigga turned to face her. The seer had long, black hair. It was straight but greasy and snarled. Her cottage smelled like dead animals and waste.

Frigga reluctantly handed the baby over to the woman, knowing that direct contact was required for her magic to work.

The seer held baby Loki and her eyes rolled backward so that Frigga could only see the white part.

"This child will have much sorrow, and many challenges," she began. "He will kill his father." Then, suddenly, she started to convulse, and baby Loki started to scream at the top of his lungs.

"The god of evil will take a wife. Their love will start wars and break worlds," the Seer said, voice rasping.

Frigga saw the blank look in the Seer's eyes and managed to take the baby just before the Seer fainted. Loki stopped crying as soon as Frigga had him. After making sure that the Seer was not injured, she took a few gold coins out of her pocket and left them on the Seer's table.

Furrowing her brow, she kissed Loki's forehead. He snuggled up against her and fell back to sleep. She began the short walk back to the palace. The only thing she was sure the Seer had said about him was that he would live a hard life, and kill his father, which was no surprise to Frigga. His father was his enemy, now. She stepped into the palace and kissed his forehead again. "Are you going to be a destroyer?" she whispered to baby Loki.

Frigga stared at the sleeping baby boy in her arms. It was hard to imagine him growing up and getting married. And evil? Frigga found the idea laughable.

When she got to his nursery, Frigga laid the baby down in the cradle that Luna had already set out and made up. Luna had also set out the cloth diapers and covers, along with putting wash water in the enchanted tub that would keep the water clean and warm. There was a bed for the nurse, and Frigga was happy to see that the young woman was already asleep. If she kept this up, Frigga would offer her a full time position as Loki's nanny.

Frigga stopped by Thor's room on the way back to her bedroom. He was just barely over a year old. She kissed his forehead, smiling at his nanny, who was also asleep.

She went to her room and fell asleep.

* * *

Loki jumped a little as Sarah's phone-alarm went off. She reached under her pillow with the arm that had been resting on Loki's shoulder, eyes still closed, and turned it off.

She opened her eyes and smiled brightly. "So last night wasn't just a dream?"

Loki laughed, brushing a strand of hair off of her face. "No, my love," he told her. He sat up a little, supporting himself on one arm. "You sleep very peacefully. It was soothing to watch."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You were watching me sleep?" she asked. He nodded. "Just laying next to me, watching me sleep?" She rolled over onto her back, and Loki moved the hand that wasn't supporting his weight onto her hip. "That's both sweet and creepy."

His face directly over hers, face wearing an overly-serious expression, Loki asked, "Should I have left your bed? Risked waking you?" Sarah shrugged. "I would prefer to never be apart from you again if I can help it," he said, smirking. "And I would like to be just a _little_ bit closer, if you do not object..."

Smirking herself, now, Sarah pulled Loki's face to hers. While they kissed, Loki got on top of Sarah, and she wrapped her legs around him. "Be gentle, please. I'm sore after last night," she told him between kisses.

He entered her slowly, almost gingerly, and understood immediately that she was very sore. She was very warm, and felt very swollen. "Is this Ok?" He asked, moving slowly.

"Yes," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Perfect," pulling his face toward hers.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

In the shower now, Sarah let the water run a little hotter than she normally would have. She enjoyed every second that she had spent with Loki, but her entire body was sore. Loki was stronger than he realized, and she had a few bruises where he held her a little too tightly, but he had always loosened his grip quickly when he saw that she was in pain. He also showed her some new positions that she was looking forward to trying again, but they were the cause of almost all of her soreness. She had never forced her body to move in quite those ways before.

Loki had wanted to follow her into the bathroom, and she had wanted him to, but she also wanted a few minutes to herself. In addition to wanting to let some hot water work out some of the knots in her muscles, she wanted some time to think, and Loki's presence made that simple act very difficult for her.

Sarah went through all of the things that she would need to do to before she could leave Earth with a clear conscious. She had to train Gee, and she wanted to make sure that the young woman could handle the store by herself. She also wanted to get all of her finances in order.

"What about Steve...?" a small voice whispered in the back of her head. "What about him?" she asked, out-loud. She would miss him, but she knew that she would regret not going to Asgard with Loki significantly more than she would miss anyone and anything about Earth. Sarah knew that she was making the right decision, but she was afraid of what it would be like in Asgard, so subconsciously, she was trying to come up with reasons not to go.

There was a knock at her bathroom door. "May I come in yet?" Loki asked from the other side of the door.

"Uh, yeah, sure," she answered.

Loki opened the door and was hit with a face-full of steam. He waved it away from his face. "Do you always shower with this much heat?" he asked her.

"Actually, no," she told him. "It just feels really good on my body after last night."

"So may I join you?" he asked, smiling.

"Sure. Let me turn this water down a little for you," she said, turning the hot water down a bit.

Loki stepped into the shower while Sarah was facing away from him, so the first thing he saw was her back. He inhaled sharply.

"Still too hot?" she asked him, turning around.

His face was full of concern as he said, "No, Sarah...your body... How badly did I hurt you?"

"Uhm, I..." Sarah began. "You really didn't hurt me much," she told him, uncomfortably rubbing her arms, where she had assumed the worse of the bruising had been.

"Turn around again, please," he told her. She did. Gently, he touched a few spots on her back. Each one made her cringe. "Those are the worst bruises that I left on your back," he told her softly. "I am so sorry," he told her, kissing the back of her neck.

Sarah shrugged and turned around. "Please don't worry about this. I bruise pretty easily, but I heal quick." Loki still looked gloomy. "Loki, come on," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm fine. Honest."

"I promised you that I would not let anyone hurt you again, but I hurt you," he told her, wrapping his arms around her.

"No. I had more fun with you last night than I've ever had. You didn't hurt me. I had no idea that I'd be so bruised. I didn't even notice that most of these were happening." Sarah put her hands on his shoulders.

Loki looked at Sarah sadly. "I hurt everyone who cares about me. This is the first time that I have ever been bothered by it," he explained.

Sarah kissed him, then gently pushed him away. "No more. If you're going to let this ruin the first full day of the rest of our lives, this relationship is never going to work."

Shaking his head, Loki explained, "I am far too selfish to treat you the way that you deserve," he told her, "and amazingly weak willed, it seems," he told Sarah, looking down.

Laughing, Sarah said, "I can't anymore. Not now."

Smiling, Loki said, "I know, beautiful but delicate human woman."

Glaring, Sarah threw some water at Loki's face.

He smiled wickedly and said, "Do you really want to start this?" He made a small gesture with his hand, and suddenly the water falling on Sarah was ice-cold.

"Holy shit!" she squealed, jumping backward so she was not in the water anymore. "You ass, fix it!"

Chuckling to himself, Loki made the gesture again, and the water got almost steamy. Sarah looked angry, but she did not say anything.

"Was that too much?" he asked, brow furrowed.

"Yes. No. I don't know." She took a deep breath. "No, I guess not. Hotter water would have been too far," she admitted, reluctantly. "I guess I just got used to people who AREN'T the god of mischief while you were away."

"I am sorry, though," he told her, grabbing her shampoo. "May I wash your hair?"

Sarah smiled as her anger dissolved. Loki was forgiven, but she would have to keep in mind that he had a mischievous streak. If she was going to fool around with him, she had to be prepared for him to take things too far.

* * *

Loki ate pancakes that Sarah made. She served herself two, but only picked at them. He was wearing blue jeans and a light gray shirt while Sarah had on a light pink shirt with short sleeves. Her jeans were black.

Sarah cleaned the apartment quickly, incase the manager wanted to show it to anyone while she was at work. Sadly, she put the pulsing rose in the drawer in her nightstand. She would rather not have to answer any questions about it if the manager did end up showing the apartment.

They left together, Loki's arm around her waist. Sam had gone home and there was a new security guard on duty. Their walk to the bookstore was uneventful. Sarah unlocked it and went in, about an hour before the store opened.

Loki looked around, then decided to relax on one of the two small couches in the store rather than at one of the three tables, each of which had four chairs around it. "This is...different," he told Sarah, settling in.

"Oh, yeah," Sarah answered. "The old store got wrecked during the invasion."

"Ah," he replied, settling back. "I never did get past the second Mars book," he told Sarah, smiling.

"Oh yeah," Sarah replied. "They're all sorted and in the scifi section. Look under "B" for "Burroughs." She pulled out her phone and tapped at it a bit, then said, "You're going to want 'The Warlord of Mars,'" she told him.

"That device is interesting. What is it?" Loki asked.

"Oh, it's just my phone. Here, poke around a bit," she said, tossing the phone to him. He caught it easily, and started poking at it.

Sarah moved to the couch and sat next to Loki, watching him. "Here, let me show you some stuff on there," she told him, holding her hand out for the phone.

Loki handed it back to her, and she grinned devilishly. "Would you like to see the damage you caused?" she asked, already entering "alien invasion New York damage" into the search engine. She handed the image results back to Loki, who was smiling like a child on Christmas morning.

"You know me better than people who have known me since infancy," he told her, flipping through the images on her phone. "A few people actually took pictures of _me_," he said, smile widening. "Brave or stupid, I wonder," he said, showing her a picture of him standing on top of Stark Tower, facing Thor.

Sarah shrugged, stood up, said, "It's a good picture, though," then kissed Loki's forehead, and got to work opening the store. About five minutes before she normally flipped the sign, there was a knock on the glass. Gee stood at the window, waving and smiling.

Smiling back, Sarah unlocked the door and flipped the sign to "open." She opened the door and let Gee in.

"Hi, I hope I'm not too early...," she told Sarah.

"Oh, no, not at all. Let me go grab the paperwork to get you official," Sarah told her, heading into the backroom.

When Sarah returned, paperwork in hand, Gee was standing near the couch where Loki was, trying (and failing,) to make small talk.

"You were here over a year ago, right? Before the invasion?"

Loki nodded without looking up from Sarah's phone.

"You know, I hadn't noticed this before, but you look an awful lot like that man who lead the invasion. Goodness, what was his name? Lock? No, but it's close. Lockley? No...Loki! That was it. Has anyone ever told you that you look like that Loki guy who tried to take over the planet?"

Sarah smirked, waiting for Loki's answer.

He looked up from Sarah's phone at Sarah, then at Gee. "Sarah was just telling me that last night," he said, smirking at Sarah, who blushed. He went back to flipping through pictures on the phone.

"Come on, Gee, let's get this paperwork filled out," Sarah said, putting her arm around Gee.

* * *

Gee filled out her paperwork, then stuck around while Sarah did her part between customers. "It will probably take a few days to process, but I'll get this to Bob tonight, and I'll call you when you can start training. Alright?"

"Yes! Thank you so much, Sarah."

"How old are you again?" Sarah asked.

"20 in four days," Gee answered.

Sarah wrote it down.

"Alright, cool. So uh, I'll see ya, then?" Gee asked.

"Hey, do you wanna have lunch with us?" Sarah asked. "You can hang out for a few hours and we can all split a pizza...or something."

Gee's face lit up. "Oh, that would be great! Are you sure I'm not imposing?" she asked, glancing at Loki.

Sarah shrugged. "I'm leaving, Gee, to go be with him. I'm sticking around long enough to make sure you can handle the store, and then we're gone."

"Oh," Gee said, clearly disappointed. "So I'll be in charge of the store in a couple of weeks?" she asked, trying to find the silver lining.

"Yeah," Sarah answered. "And I'll give you a few days on your own, in case you need help."

"Ok," Gee said, a tentative smile on her face.

"Go. Read. Have fun. Some of the sections moved, so its a good thing to do, anyway. I'll show you around the backroom later, too, if you want."

"That would be great," Gee answered, wandering away.

Plopping down next to Loki, Sarah felt relaxed and happy. After a while, he started whispering some details about a picture here and there. Sometimes he just laughed. Sarah took comfort in his easy openness with her.

Sarah helped customers as they came in, and Gee always wandered up to the front when Sarah was ringing them out. At some point, Loki gave Sarah back her phone and found "The Warlord of Mars."

For lunch, Sarah ordered a pizza that they split three ways. After that, Gee left, and Sarah and Loki spent a lot of time happily talking about inconsequential things until closing time.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sarah and Loki took the 20 minute walk to Bob's restaurant to drop off Gee's paperwork. Again, Loki found a way to always be touching Sarah, who was definitely not complaining about it.

"Oh, hey Sarah," a pretty, older woman said to Sarah as she entered the restaurant. Her hair was mostly gray, and held up in a bun. It was Bob's sister, Annie. "Is that the paperwork for the new-hire?" she asked. Loki stayed in the shadows.

"Yeah," Sarah answered.

"Well, Bob's in the kitchen. He told me to send you right back if you made it here," Annie told her.

"I'd actually like to place an order, first," Sarah told her, smiling.

"Oh! Sure, of course! What would you like?" Annie asked her.

"Uh, lemme see. I think we'll have a BLT and a cheddar tuna melt."

Annie picked up her phone and called the order back to the kitchen. She gestured for Sarah to head into the kitchen while she was on the phone. Loki followed her, looking handsome and regal, even in jeans and a t-shirt.

Sarah dropped off Gee's paperwork, and Bob thanked her, then said, "Your friend there looks an awful lot like that Loki fellow. Have you noticed that?"

Loki smirked and Sarah shrugged, then they waited for their food up front. "Why did you not tell him that the food was for us?" Loki asked, putting his arm around Sarah's waist.

Sarah shrugged. "I don't like special treatment." Loki raised an eyebrow and shrugged. Growing up a prince meant that he saw little else.

* * *

When she got home, Sarah found a note on her door asking her to call the apartment manager when she was home. When she did, he asked if she minded if he brought a couple by the next day, and she told him that it would be fine. "Just let yourself in if I'm not home," she finished. The manager thanked her, then hung up.

Loki and Sarah ate their dinner at the kitchen table. They both drank water. Sarah ended up only eating half of her BLT, and she barely touched her fries, but Loki finished them for her, which was becoming typical.

"You certainly do not eat like an Asgardian," he pointed out while he finished her fries.

"You eat enough for both of us," she told him, poking him in side. "Where does it all go? " she asked.

He shrugged.

Sarah and Loki moved to Sarah's couch after cleaning their places at the table. Loki laid on his back with his head resting in Sarah's lap, one leg slung carelessly over the arm of the couch, the other hanging off the front. Sarah picked up and started knitting Steve's scarf.

"Do you know how Thor reacted when your mom and dad told him about you?" Sarah asked him.

"Yes, actually," Loki answered, telling Sarah the story.

* * *

Frigga woke up later than she would have liked the day after Odin brought home the new baby. She decided to check on Thor first, then Loki, so she walked to Thor's bedroom.

When she arrived, Frigga found Thor and Odin playing. She stood in the door smiling for a few minutes. It was easy for her to love Odin when she watched him play so lovingly with Thor who, at 15 months old, still had much of his baby fat.

"Husband, may I speak to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Wife! Good morning! Yes, yes, I'll be right out." He looked at Thor. "I'll be back. Play with your toys for a few minutes."

Thor got up and waddled over to his toys, yelling, "TOYS!" He popped his thumb into his mouth.

Odin grumbled on his way out that, "Thumb sucking is unbecoming of a future king. I must talk to Dotta about this."

Frigga noticed Odin's new eye patch, then kissed Odin on his cheek. "Is your eye causing you much pain?" she asked.

He shook his head, "No, but the eye is gone. It is no matter, my wife," he said when Frigga frowned.

She nodded, then asked, "Where is Dotta?"

"Oh, I sent her away. I told her to spend the morning with her mother, or picking flowers, or whatever she wants." Frigga smiled; Odin always sent Dotta away when he had been away from Thor for more than a few hours.

"Has he had breakfast?" Frigga asked.

"Yes, Dotta and Thor were eating when found them," Odin answered.

"We should introduce Thor to his new brother," Frigga pointed out.

"Ah, yes, Loki. How is the woman I found for him? She seemed responsible," Odin said, smiling warmly at his wife.

"I think she will be perfect, but only time will tell. Thank you for finding him a nursemaid. Go play with your son. I will bring her and Loki," she told him, turning toward Loki's nursery, which was only a couple of rooms away from Thor's.

Frigga knocked gently on the half-closed door, then entered, quietly. Luna was sitting in the rocking chair with Loki, patting him on the back. He let out a loud, wet-sounding burp, then cooed contentedly.

"Good morning, my Queen," Luna said, bowing her head a bit. She handed Loki to Frigga's waiting hands. "Loki has been cleaned, fed, and burped," she explained. "He slept very well, only waking once." Baby Loki popped both of his hands in his mouth and started sucking on his fingers.

"Perfect. Odin made a good choice in you. Did he know you before?" Frigga asked.

Luna shrugged. "Mother has worked here, in the palace, as long as I have been alive," she answered. "When King Odin asked me if I wanted to be a nurse to his son, Mother had just been lecturing me about needing to try to have another baby," Luna told Frigga. "I was actually relieved for the reprieve. I do not think that I am ready to go through that again."

Frigga frowned, shifting the baby to her left arm. She patted Luna on the shoulder. "I will gladly keep you here as Loki's nanny as long as the two of you keep getting on as well as you have been," she told Luna. "Your mother is wrong. You need to be ready to try again."

Luna smiled at Frigga, but she was not sure that she would ever be ready to try again. "How old he is?" she asked Frigga.

Looking down at the baby in her arms, Frigga decided that he was right around three months old, so she told Luna that. "Three months."

Together, Luna and Frigga walked down to Thor's room. Frigga still held Loki, who was still sucking on his fingers and cooing. Frigga shifted Loki to her left arm and knocked on the door.

"Come in, come in!" Odin yelled, laughing.

When Frigga and Luna opened the door, they saw that Thor had grabbed one of his toy swords, and was swinging it around the room wildly. Then he would fall on his butt, make an angry face, and get up to do exactly the same thing again. Frigga and Luna quickly joined Odin in his laughter.

Baby Loki pulled his fingers out of his mouth and stared at Thor, watching him closely.

After a few minutes, Thor dropped the sword and toddled over to Loki and their mother, falling on his bottom about halfway there.

"That?" he said, scrunching his face and pointing at Loki.

"'That' is your new baby brother, Thor," Odin answered, taking Thor's hand and helping him up. Together, then walked over to Frigga and Loki. Frigga bent over so that Thor could get a good look at Loki.

"Bruszer?" Thor said, looking curiously at the littler person in his mother's arms.

"Yes, Thor," Frigga answered. "This is your brother, Loki. Can you say 'Loki?'" she asked him.

"Rogi!" Thor said, then furrowed his brow. "Say 'gain," he demanded.

"Loki," Frigga said, stretching out the word.

"Roki?" Thor tried to repeat.

"Good enough, son," Odin said, smiling.

"Take!" Thor said, reaching for Loki.

"Wait a minute," Frigga told him. She sat down on the floor. "I cannot let you hold your new brother standing, but you can sit in my lap and help me hold him if you want."

Frigga handed baby Loki up to Odin, then helped Thor get settled into her lap. Odin handed Loki back to her, and she let Thor put his arms around him while she supported the baby.

Thor shocked everyone in the room by starting to sing a song to Loki. All the words were gibberish, but the idea was clear. Thor was singing Loki to sleep, and it worked.

* * *

Sarah put down her knitting and looked at Loki, who was still resting his head in her lap. "I think that might be one of the sweetest things I've ever heard."

Loki laughed. "Yes, well, after I fell asleep, Thor lost interest in me and would have just dropped me on the floor if Mother had not also been holding me, which woke me up. I started screaming, Thor started screaming, and Father just laughed at the whole thing. Mother handed me to Luna to comfort, and she sat down next to Thor and explained about babies and how they don't like loud noises."

"Your family loves you," Sarah said, picking up her knitting again.

"Yes, I suppose. In their way. Mother told me most of these stories while I was in prison. I wish that I had known when I was much younger. It might have changed a few things. They got very bad at accepting me as part of the family the older I got." Loki shook his head. "No, they loved my potential, they loved who they thought I would become. They do not know how to love me, but I suppose they tried, and that will have to be enough."

Sarah and Loki were quiet for a few minutes as Sarah finished knitting the scarf.

"Hey, what do you think?" Sarah asked, holding it up in front of Loki. The scarf was mostly dark blue, but every four inches, there was an inch-wide red stripe, then a half-inch-wide dark blue stripe, followed by an inch-wide white stripe. The pattern continued for the entire scarf, which was about six feet long.

"I think that I am jealous," he answered, seriously.

"Oh, Loki, don't be jealous. I had no idea when I would see you again when I started this. I would love to make you anything you want."

Loki sat up and put his arm around Sarah. "I know, love, but I am still jealous." She rested her head on his shoulder, sighing.

"You have nothing to be jealous of," Sarah told him, snuggling into him a little more. "He's like the brother I never had."

"Brother?" Loki repeated.

"Yeah. He's the only man I've ever been comfortable around. I don't have to be careful around him."

Loki furrowed his brow. "You are careful around me? You are not comfortable around me?"

"Loki!" she exclaimed, sitting up. "Actually, no," she admitted. "You're a god with god powers and god business and you accidentally leave bruises on me when we're making love. Yeah, Loki, you're a little dangerous."

Loki raised an eyebrow then tilted his head and shrugged. "Fair enough. Why do you choose to be with me, then?"

"Because 'comfortable,' by its nature, lacks 'passionate,' and we are very passionate about each other." She laid her head back on his shoulder. "Now tell me I don't make you uncomfortable. Tell me you're not careful with me."

Kissing the top of her head, Loki said, "Would you have me lie to you?"

Sarah lifted her head back off of his shoulder. "Never," she told him, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Then you know I cannot say those things to you." He put his index finger under her chin, softly brushing it, then leaned in to kiss her deeply, and passionately, but gently. He scooped Sarah up, putting one arm under her legs and the other behind her shoulders. Then he stood up.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sarah asked, confused.

"I am going to lay you on your bed. Then I will take your clothes off of you. While you are naked, I will give you a massage, because you deserve it. I have no plans beyond that."

"None?" Sarah asked.

"None," Loki confirmed as he laid her down on her bed.

Together, they undressed Sarah. Loki rubbed her neck, shoulders, and upper back, slowly moving down her body. When he finally got to her feet, he realized that Sarah had fallen asleep.

Smiling, Loki took off his clothes and got into bed next to her. He also fell asleep quickly.


	4. Chapter 4

Location: An empty field in Upstate New York

Time: Late night/Early morning

Thirty seconds ago, the sky had been totally clear, but that was thirty seconds ago. Now, the sky was violently swirling with angry clouds, complete with thunder and lighting. If Loki had been there, he would have recognized the weather anomaly for what it was, but he was in Sarah's bed, sleeping as peacefully as he had the night before, which was more peaceful than he had slept in a millennia.

Maybe Loki would have sensed the magic, even in Sarah's apartment, that caused the storm, had he been awake, but it was not strong enough to wake him up.

Thor landed in the exact spot Loki had appeared two days earlier, and he did not look pleased.

* * *

Chapter 4

Steve Rogers got home the same night, (technically morning,) that Thor arrived. The first thing he did was take a shower; a long, very hot, very soapy shower. He did not mind getting dirty, or sweaty, but the slime that he sometimes had to deal with was repulsive.

He went straight to bed after his shower.

* * *

Sarah woke up very early the next morning, and Loki was still asleep. She left him a note on her pillow rather than wake him, then went to the gym. It was the one day a week that the bookstore was closed, so she grabbed two strawberry-banana smoothies (large for Loki, small for her,) on her way home.

Loki was awake and pacing in her kitchen when she got home.

"Are you ok?" she asked him as she opened her door.

"No, and I do not know why. Something happened last night, and I have no idea what it was or where it happened, but I feel like my skin is crawling with bugs," he told her.

"That sounds...horrible. Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, concerned.

"No. Wait, maybe. I think someone is looking for me, but I am not ready to be found. Normally, I would alter my appearance, but there are ways to track magic...I do not know what to do, but I will not them rip me away from you," Loki said. His eyes darted all around the room. He looked terrified.

In that moment, Sarah realized how very much he had risked when he came back for her. She had only had an idea before.

"Look, Sarah, I know you think I do not plan, but I do. I do plan. I plan and I plot and I manipulate, but right now, something has not gone according to my plan, and I do not know what it is, so I cannot fix it."

"Loki?"

"What!?" he yelled. Sarah gave him an appropriately scathing look, and he growled at himself and said, "Forgive me, please, Sarah. Do you have an idea?"

"Maybe," she answered. "Can you grow a beard? Quickly?"

Loki shrugged. "Not without using magic."

"No matter," Sarah said, putting the smoothies down on the table. She rummaged around in her "junk" drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors and blond hair dye.

Seeing the scissors and hair dye, Loki understood what she was thinking and he smiled, then he noticed the smoothies sitting on the table. "What are those?"

"Uh, scissors and hair color...I figure we can..."

"No no, I know what those are. I meant the things that you put on the table," he interrupted.

"Oh," Sarah laughed, "those are smoothies. Grab the bigger one and try it."

Loki reached for the bigger cup, and took a sip from the straw. "Mmmmm," he said, then took a much bigger sip.

"You might want to slow down a li..."

"AAARRRGGGHHHH!" he yelled, grabbing his head with his empty hand. "What manner of enchantment is this!?"

Successfully keeping a straight face (but barely,) Sarah explained, "THAT is a brain freeze. It's the headache you get when you drink a half-frozen drink too quickly."

"Yes, well, some lessons are best learned first hand." He put the drink down. "I will have more, though. It is worth the risk."

Sarah DID laugh, that time. "Just take smaller sips and you'll be fine." Then she pulled out a chair at her table, and gestured for Loki to sit in it. "I'm gunna grab a towel," she told him as he sat. She went into her bathroom and grabbed a towel, then draped it around Loki's shoulders so it covered the area around his neck completely. "Ready?" she asked.

Loki shrugged. "It is just hair, my love."

She started cutting.

"What will you do with all of your things when we leave?" he asked while she chopped. He also took another, much smaller sip of his smoothie.

"Oh, I'm going to pack everything away and donate it all to one of the homeless shelters. Probably one of the ones for battered women and children," she answered.

"You're not particularly fond of anything?"

Sarah half-smiled, then said, "Just the rose you made me. Everything else is just stuff, and you already told me that I wouldn't need anything." Sarah stepped in front of Loki and started cutting the front part of his hair. She was going for short, but long enough to put some gel in it to make it stick up.

After a few minutes of cutting, she thought she had done a pretty good job. She took the towel off shook it off onto her floor. "You look good," she told Loki. "Go into the bathroom and look; I'll be right there."

He went while she swept up his hair, then threw it in the garbage.

She smiled at him from the door of the bathroom as he ran his fingers through his hair. "It is odd," he told her.

"I know what you mean. I went that short myself about a month after the invasion. I kept expecting to there to be more hair for a while,"

"Yes, exactly."

"Ready to go blond?" she asked him, grinning.

* * *

When Sarah was done, Loki looked at himself in the mirror and cringed. "Repulsive. I look like my brother...or I would, if he ever cut that mane of his."

Sarah wrapped her arms around him from behind and rested her head on his shoulder, standing on her tippy toes to do it. "It's just hair, Loki." He made a face at her in the mirror.

His hair was obviously dyed, but the color Sarah had used was sort of a darker, dirty blond. He looked very different, but Sarah was not sure that it would be enough, even though she had used some gel to style it. "Hey, hold on," she said, letting go and leaving the bathroom. When she returned, she was holding a pair of glasses with black rims. "Put these on, they're non-prescription." He did, the he cringed.

"Ugh. This is wretched," he told her.

Sarah flashed Loki a huge, toothy smile. "So fix it. Just magic it back to how it was before." Loki had hurt her feelings. She thought she had done a pretty good job on his hair, especially considering that she was not a professional.

Loki glared at her. "Evil woman." Then he grinned, turning away from the mirror. "You deliciously, beautifully, cleverly evil woman." He grabbed her and pulled her close to him. "You did a fantastic job, I just do not picture myself this way. What do you think?" he asked.

"I think," she said, tilting her head up as he leaned down to kiss her, "that it could buy us a little time if anyone is looking for you."

"Ahh, yes, well, I think that I will just leave these here unless we are out in public," Loki said, putting the glasses on the edge of the sink, leaning even closer to Sarah.

Their lips met, and Sarah wrapped her arms around him, just as the phone started to ring. She pushed him away gently. "Leave it," he whispered into her ear, kissing her neck.

"Can't. Might be important."

He reluctantly let her go, and she ran to answer the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hi Sarah, it's Steve."

"Oh, hey Steve. How are you?"

"Better now that I'm home again. Are you busy today?"

Sarah cringed, then looked at Loki, who was walking out of the bathroom. She trusted Steve, but she did not want to put him in a position where she might have to lie more for her, or Loki.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm busy today. Is it important?" she asked.

"Oh, no, not at all," Steve answered. "I just wanted to hang out. I could use some normal socialization."

"Ah, well, can you stop in at the bookstore tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll bring lunch."

"Oh and there's a new girl. Her name is Gee."

"Alright. I'll meet her tomorrow."

"Alright Steve. I'll see you then." They said bye and hung up. She felt a little bad about not telling him that she was leaving, but she had a very strong feeling that now was not the time to tell him.

* * *

Steve looked at his phone after he hung it up. Sarah was acting weird, but he did not think that she was in any danger. He decided to try not to worry about her until he saw her tomorrow.

* * *

Loki had sat down at Sarah's kitchen table. He still looked nervous, but he knew that Sarah had done everything she could without using magic to make him harder to find. He had cloaked himself before he left Asgard, but someone sensitive to magic could still sense where he entered Earth if they knew what to look for, and most Asgardians did. Odin would send someone connected to Loki, in the hopes that the bond they shared would draw them to him. Thor seemed the obvious Asgardian to send, since he also had the added benefit of having been to Earth fairly recently.

"Would you mind showing me some of your magic?" Loki asked Sarah, trying to stop himself from obsessing about things that were out of his control.

"That's rather out of the blue. I was specifically not using any because I didn't want to lead anyone here," she answered.

Loki laughed. "I forget how little you know about magic in this realm. Someone would have to know and recognize your magic before they could detect it, and only very powerful magic leaves a trace for more than a few minutes."

Sarah smiled. "I'll just get my sticks, then."

* * *

Odin had enchanted Thor's hammer to be able to detect Loki's magic before Thor left Asgard, but Odin had warned him that it would only work if Loki had actually used magic on Earth recently. Thor understood.

Being an excellent tracker, Thor followed the very faint trail of crushed and broken weeds that Loki had left behind him just under two days before. He followed the trail most of the way to New York City, but it took him the entire day to do so. "What are you plotting, brother?" he asked, stepping across the city line.

Thor wondered briefly where he could possibly hope to stay without alerting Loki to his presence in the city, then he looked up. Shining in the distance, brighter than any of the buildings around it, stood Stark Tower.

Smiling for the first time since arriving on Earth, Thor set out for it. It was time for him to pay his old friends from over a year ago a visit.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Steve Rogers, are you here?" a computerized voice asked. Steve looked up, startled. It was early evening, and he was just getting on his shoes so he could go find some food.

"Uh, yes? Who are you?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Call me Jarvis,' sir," the voice answered. "There is a guest outside, and Tony seems to think that you are best equipped to handle him."

"Oh, uh, alright. I guess...let him know...I'll be right there. Who, uh, is it?" Steve asked, totally confused.

"He calls himself Thor," Jarvis answered.

"Oh, for the...alright. I'll be right there," he said. If Thor was here, something was undoubtedly wrong.

Steve had been living in Stark Tower since shortly after the invasion attempt. Tony had matter of factly stated that he needed someone human to make sure that things were going smoothly, and that Steve was his first choice. Honored, Steve had accepted. Tony had only returned once since the invasion, and that had only been to install a new and improved arc-reactor to power the building.

Shaking his head, Steve made it to the ground floor and hit the button to let Thor in.

"Ah, my friend, it is good to see you again! I did not expect to find you here!" Thor said, grabbing Steve in a quick, very manly bear hug. "Is there by chance a spare room I might use for a few days?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Lots of rooms actually. It's good to see you too. What, uhm, are you doing here?" Steve asked.

"Loki," Thor said, simply.

Steve managed to stifle a gasp, but only barely. "What about him?" he replied.

"He is back in your realm," Thor told him, "but apparently he schemes quietly, and in the shadows this time. I must find him and bring him back to Asgard."

"I see," Steve said. He had his own suspicions about where Loki was, but he kept his mouth shut. If he was wrong, it would help nothing, but if he was right, Loki was not planning to cause anyone any harm.

"Where do you think I might find some refreshment? And possibly some of your Midgard clothing. I wish to blend in."

Looking at Thor, Steve started laughing at the idea that he might hope to blend in. "Come on, Thor. Let's go up to my apartment. I might have something that will fit you, then we can find a place to eat."

* * *

Sarah's head was absolutely pounding. It was not quite as bad as the headache she had after lifting the refrigerator with her mind for the first time, but it was pretty close. Loki had asked her to show him some things, and in her eagerness to show him how her powers had grown in his absence, she had pushed herself a little too far, or maybe a little too long. She was not sure which, but she had been practicing magic for several hours with two short breaks. Lunch had been the first break, then the manager brought a couple over to see the apartment. Sarah explained away the boxes by reminding them that she would need to pack.

"I am so very sorry, my love. I should have stopped you before this happened," Loki told her, his voice barely above a whisper. It was the third or fourth time since she had stopped that he had apologized. Her head was in his lap, and he was gently rubbing her temples. All of the lights in the apartment were off. Between the rubbing, darkness, and headache pills she had taken, the pain was just bearable.

"Loki, please. I'll be fine. You mean this NEVER happened to you while you were learning how to use magic?" she whispered, her voice ragged from the pain.

"Never like this, but I am not human. I heal much more quickly than you," he whispered.

"I'm just going to close my eyes for a little while. Don't let me sleep much past an hour, ok?" She saw him frown. "Please? I promise to go to bed for the night if the pain is still there, but I really want to cook dinner for us tonight."

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then sat back up. "Should I keep rubbing?" he asked.

"Yes, please, but I want you to promise me you'll wake me."

Loki sighed. "We truly are meant for each other. Yes, I will wake you, I promise, and yes, I was going to let you sleep if you didn't make me promise to wake you."

Sarah closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. Loki watched her sleep for a while, thinking about how powerful she was, and how much more powerful she was going to be before she reached the peak of her potential. She started to snore softly, and Loki smiled. Even her snores warmed his heart. Loki's mind wandered.

* * *

A 14 year old Loki watched jealously as Thor and Sif splashed around in the waterfall in the middle of the forest. Loki had not even wanted to go for the hike with Thor, but Thor had been insistent. "Come on, Loki," he had said. "I will teach you how to track, and hunt. We will have fun; just the two of us."

Thor was the one person Loki really looked up to, and so Loki had happily agreed. Things have gone well for the first couple of hours. Thor was teaching Loki what to look for when tracking certain animals, when suddenly, he froze. "Shhhhh," he told Loki. "There is someone here."

Loki stood still, hardly breathing, watching Thor creep toward a giant tree. "HA!" he yelled, jumping around the tree. Loki heard a woman scream, then laugh.

"Oh, it is only you, Thor," the voice said. Loki recognized it as Sif.

Swearing softly under his breath, Loki started walking back to the castle. He knew how things went when Thor and his friends were together, and he had no interest in being ridiculed for not being strong or fast enough, or for thinking too much.

"Loki, wait," Thor called. Loki stopped. "Stay with us. Sif can teach you at least as much as I can."

Ever the optimist in his youth, Loki stayed. Thor and Sif had starting trying to teach him, but then they had gotten to the waterfall, and Sif said it was too hot to teach. She had stripped down to almost nothing and started splashing around in the river. Thor had looked at Loki, then back at Sif. He half shrugged, then started stripping himself.

After a few minutes of watching, he tromped home. He had no interest in being made to feel pathetic for not having Thor's heavily muscled body.

He went straight to the library in the castle and took solace in the books there, like he always did.

* * *

True to his word, Loki woke Sarah up an hour after she fell asleep. He could see in her eyes that the pain had not completely vanished, but he could also see that she was doing much better.

Sarah sat up and kissed Loki, thanked him, then went into the kitchen looking for perishable items that she had bought before Loki had returned to her. She found broccoli, a green pepper, a sweet onion, and tomatoes, along with an open jar of sauce and milk. There was also some raw chicken breast that she had purchased three days earlier. Smiling, Sarah called Loki to the kitchen.

"How are you with a knife?" she asked, grabbing the vegetables out of the fridge.

"Knife? How? I can kill a man with a knife. Several, if they're close enough together," he added, his face very serious.

"No, ass, can you chop up the broccoli, pepper, and onion, and slice the tomato?" she asked, smirking.

"Oh, yes. Yes, absolutely," he answered, returning the smirk. He had known what she meant.

Loki chopped a few piece of broccoli, then asked Sarah if they were a good size. Sarah was cleaning and cutting up the chicken, and she told him he had done it perfectly. He cut everything perfectly.

Sarah made a chicken and vegetable stir-fry, with roasted tomatoes on the side. "This is delicious," Loki told her, being very genuine. "Why do you pay other people to cook for you so often?"

Smiling sadly, Sarah told him, "I usually don't like to cook. Mark...my step dad...you remember him?" Loki's face darkened. "I see that you do. Anyway, he used to make me cook for him when I was old enough to handle a knife. No matter what I made, or how well I cooked it, he found fault with the food." Sarah shook her head. "So I don't usually bother."

"Well, if you do not mind, I would very much like it if you cooked more," he told her.

Sarah shrugged. "Yeah, as long as you're by my side like you were today."

"Happily," he told her. He saw her cringe. "How is your pain?" he asked.

"Getting bad again, actually," she told him. "I think I'm going to go to bed after all." Sarah started to clear her place.

"No. I will do that. Come, I will tuck you in, then I will take care of the mess after I finish eating."

He moved very quickly, gently pulling out Sarah's chair, wrapping his arm around her waist as she stood up. They walked slowly into her bedroom, where he pulled the covers down for her, and she laid down. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. Again, she fell asleep almost immediately.

Loki finished his food, then finished what Sarah hadn't eaten. There was still a lot left in the wok, but Loki was not sure what to do with it. On Asgard, there was very rarely any food left after a meal, and when there was a feast, the servants and other common folk were welcome after nobility finished eating. He shrugged and decided to leave it in the wok on the stove with the lid on it.

Thor had just arrived at Stark Towers, but Loki was blissfully ignorant. Had he known that his brother was so close to finding out where he was, Loki would have been concerned, but as it was, he spent a very relaxing night reading some of Sarah's books that she kept on a shelf in her room. He grabbed something called "The Eye of the World," which was the first book in a series called, "The Wheel of Time."

* * *

Steve's clothes did fit Thor, but barely, and only the stuff that was a little loose on him. Steve brought Thor to the Chinese restaurant that Sarah had shown him, feeling a little bit guilty. They ate there, then went back to Stark Towers, (with no left overs) where Steve showed Thor to one of the many unused suits.

Looking around at the space and generous furnishings, Thor smiled. "Stark does nothing halfway."

Steve agreed, "Nothing at all. Come on, I'll show you how to get to my room, so you can grab your stuff, then we'll scan your hand and set this room to you so no one else can get it. You'll be safe here," Steve added.

Thor smiled and put his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Thank you, my friend. I did not expect things to be this easy when I got here."

Shrugging uncomfortably, Steve said, "Thank Tony next time you see him. I have very little to do with this, beyond being in the right place at the right time."

Smiling more widely, Thor took his hand back. "You, sir, are too modest by half, but I will be sure to thank Tony Stark."

They walked to Steve's room, where Thor grabbed his clothes and Mjölnir, then walked back to Thor's room.

Steve showed Thor how to scan his hand when he set the room as Thor's. As he turned to leave, Thor asked, "Is there any mead, do you think?"

Furrowing his brow, Steve thought for a second then laughed. "Not here, but New York never sleeps. Let's go find you some mead."

* * *

The man could hold his beer, Thor thought as Steve finished his fourth pint of beer, then asked for another.

"Do you indulge often?" Thor asked.

"Almost never," Steve answered, then laughed when Thor made a confused face. "I'm a super soldier. I metabolize everything very quickly."

Thor shrugged, then chugged his mead and ordered a fifth for himself. "You sure you do not mind me spending your money?"

"As I keep telling Sarah, I have more than I know what to do with."

"Sarah?" Thor asked, and Steve smirked.

"Just a girl. More like a sister, actually. I'll take you to meet her tomorrow," he promised.

They had a few more drinks, then stumbled back to Stark Towers.

* * *

Loki was about halfway through the second book in the Wheel of Time series when he realized that he was tired. He looked at the page he was on, then closed the book and left "The Great Hunt" on her end table.

He undressed, then climbed into bed next to Sarah, not intending to disturb her. She mumbled something in her sleep, then rolled toward him, wrapping her arms around him. "My Loki," she whispered. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead, which woke her up.

"Loki," she whispered, still half asleep, "what time is it?"

"I am not sure. Not yet morning, though," he answered.

"I was dreaming about you. It was nice," she mumbled, snuggling into his chest.

"What was your dream?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'll show you if you help me out of these clothes," she told him.

"Your head..?" he asked.

"Is fine." Sarah sat up, then leaned over to kiss Loki.

When she pulled away, Loki was smiling. He grabbed her shirt and pulled it off, then put his hand behind her head and gently pulled her face to his. Loki helped Sarah out of the rest of her clothes, and they made love gently, with Sarah on top the entire time.

After, Sarah rested her head on Loki's chest, and he wrapped his arm around her. They fell asleep that way.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day, Sarah woke up with her alarm and shut it off before it woke Loki. Her headache was completely gone, so she left him another note and went to the gym after putting the leftovers into a storage container, then popping it into the fridge. She smiled as she dropped the note on her pillow. It was a little odd waking up next to a blond with short hair.

She did her usual routine at the gym, then walked home to shower. When she got back to her apartment, she half expected Loki to be pacing again, but he was lounging on her couch, reading.

"I hate waking up alone in your bed," he told her as she locked the door behind herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she told him. "Should I start waking you up before I leave the apartment?"

Loki closed the book, using his finger to keep his place. "No. I want you to know that I miss you when you are not here, but I want you to live your life."

Sarah furrowed her brow. She was not accustomed to having a lover who cared about her enough to put her needs first. "I need to shower," was all she said before walking into the bathroom.

Shrugging, Loki returned to the book that he was reading.

* * *

After her shower, Sarah got ready and Loki and Sarah walked to the bookstore. She remembered to grab the scarf that she had made for Steve. Loki gave it a look, but kept his mouth shut.

Gee arrived about a half hour before the store opened, and Sarah let her in. Sarah wrote up a quick time sheet for Gee to sign, then got to work showing her around the store.

"Who's that?" she asked when she noticed the blond man with glasses, reading on the couch.

"My friend, Larry," she told Gee. "He was tired of looking like Loki," Sarah lied.

"Oh, him!" Gee said, smiling.

Gee was quick to learn, but she lacked the confidence to address customers as they came through the door. Sarah had, too, at first, so she was fairly confident that it would come to Gee, in time.

Sarah happened to be out picking up garbage in front of the store when she saw Steve approaching for their lunch "date." Next to him was a large, broad shouldered man that Sarah recognized as Thor. Sarah waved to both men, then, feigning calmness, walked into the store. She dropped the garbage she was holding into the trashcan.

"You," she said, pointing to Loki, "backroom. Now. No words. Run."

Loki looked at Sarah suspiciously, but did what she told him to do.

"You," Sarah said, pointing at Gee, "not a word about Larry, do you understand?"

Gee nodded, eyes wide with confusion and curiosity, but she didn't say anything. It would have to be good enough, because Steve and Thor were about to enter the store.

"Hi, Sarah!" Steve said as he walked in. "How are you doing?" He was looking around the store suspiciously, but Sarah was pretty sure that he did not realize he was doing it.

"Hey, lemme go wash my hands. Gee, this is Steve," she said, gesturing to Steve, "and Steve, this is Gee. I'll be right back." She rushed into the backroom.

After the door closed behind her, Sarah spoke very quickly and quietly to a confused Loki while she washed her hands at the sink. "Your brother is out there with Steve. I don't know why. I don't know what Steve told him. I will find an excuse to come back here and tell you as soon as I can."

Loki's eyes widened, but he only nodded his head.

Sarah took a deep breath, then went back to the main part of the store.

"So, Steve, who is your friend?" she asked.

"This is Thor," he answered. "He says that his brother is in our realm, near here, but that he does not know exactly where. You wouldn't happen to have seen him, would you?"

"His brother?" Sarah asked, trying to play dumb.

Gee's eyes were so wide that Sarah was surprised that they did not fall out of her head. "Loki, Sarah. Thor is Loki's brother...remember? The invasion? He was one of the heroes who stopped it," she said, breathlessly.

"Ahh," Sarah replied, smiling at Gee. "Why would I know anything about him?" she asked, turning to look directly at Steve.

"Do not be offended, friend of Steve. He is asking that of everyone," Thor told her.

Smiling, Sarah held her hand out to Thor. "I'm Sarah," she told him. He gladly shook her hand, but his eyes narrowed as soon as their skin touched.

"You...something is familiar about you," he told her, shaking and then releasing her hand. "The set of your jaw, maybe, or perhaps something about the way you carry yourself." He thought for a minute. "Are you of Asgard?"

Sarah laughed. "No, just a common Earth girl," she answered, looking at Steve questioningly. He shook his head a little, and Sarah smiled in relief at him.

Gee looked at Thor, then at Steve, then back at Thor. Her eyes settled on Steve. "You're Captain America, aren't you?" she asked Steve.

It was Steve's turn to look questioningly at Sarah, who shook her head slightly.

Sighing, Steve looked back at Gee. "Don't tell anyone, please," he replied to her.

"EEE!" she yelled. "Like anyone would believe me, anyway," she said.

Thor started laughing. "You humans with your secrets," he said. Steve, Gee, and Sarah all shared a look and shrugged.

"Pizza?" Steve asked after Thor had stopped laughing.

Sarah and Gee both eagerly said, "Yes, please," at the same time, causing Thor and Steve to laugh. Sarah and Gee rolled their eyes.

"May I use the phone, ma'am?" he asked Gee, really looking at her for the first time. She smiled and handed him the phone.

"Thank you," he said, slightly taken aback by how attractive he found her. Gee's smile widened. "You have a beautiful smile," he told her. She blushed and looked down, but her smile had grown even more. "And you're pretty with your cheeks all rosy," he told her.

Gee giggled a little, and Sarah laughed. She was very happy that Steve and Gee seemed to be hitting it off so well. Steve deserved a woman who could return his love, and she had a feeling that Gee might be willing to try.

After Steve ordered, he and Thor sat down around one of the tables.

"I'll be right back," Sarah told them, heading toward the back room again. She did not want to arouse any suspicion, but she also did not want to keep Loki waiting.

As soon as the door closed behind her, she started looking around for Loki. She saw him sitting near the emergency exit, in some shadows, reading. She sat next to him.

"Steve hasn't told your brother anything, but I think it's too dangerous for you to stay here. I can disconnect the alarm and you can sneak out the fire-door," she whispered, handing him the keys to her apartment. She stood up and walked over to the alarm.

Loki nodded. "I agree," he told her. "You are sexy when you take charge," he flirted.

Sarah blushed and smiled while she disabled the alarm. "Alright, get out of here," she told him. "Help yourself to the leftovers from last night. They're in the fridge. Do you know how to use a microwave?" she asked.

Shrugging, Loki said, "I'll figure it out. I believe that the food you made last night will taste just as good, cold, though."

Sarah smiled. "I love you," she told him, "and I'm going to miss you like crazy."

He stood up and walked over to Sarah, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you, too." He kissed her, then left. She watched him leave, rather weak-kneed from the kiss, then closed the door and re-enabled the alarm.

She walked over to a small cabinet where she kept plates and napkins and grabbed some of both, then she headed into the main part of the store again.

* * *

Sarah had a very hard time sitting through lunch. She enjoyed watching Gee and Steve cosy up to each other, but Thor's presence kept he very guarded. She kept catching him studying her, and by the end of lunch, she finally said, "Do I have something on my nose?" more than a little annoyed.

Thor looked embarrassed. "Please accept my apology, but you look like we could be cousins...almost. Your nose, the shape of your eyes...and I know most Asgardians enjoy green eyed Earth women. Is it possible that you have a parent from Asgard?" he asked.

"I was adopted," she told him, shrugging, but avoiding answering the question. She did not feel comfortable telling him that she was his half-sister, but her birth mother had confirmed her parentage fairly recently.

"Well," Steve said, standing up, "I think it's time for us to get on with your search, eh?" he said, looking at Thor. Sarah was acting odd, and he was pretty sure that he understood the reason. He would give Sarah a few days, then he would talk to her.

Thor stood up, too. "Ladies," he said, nodding to Sarah and Gee. Then he turned to the door and left, waiting just outside for Steve to leave.

Steve nodded at Sarah, then Gee.

"Hey, hold on a sec," Sarah told Steve as he opened the door.

"I apparently need a minute," he told Thor, who shrugged and waved his hand in a 'go on' gesture. Steve followed Sarah to the backroom.

"Where is he, Sarah?" Steve asked, his earlier resolve having flown out the window.

Sarah ignored the question and handed Steve the scarf she made him. "I made you this," she said, handing it to him.

Steve smiled inspite of himself and unfolded it. "It's beautiful, Sarah. Thank you," he told her, folding it back up.

They looked at each other, then Sarah sighed. "I can't tell you yet, Steve. I'm sorry."

He looked at her sternly, then his expression softened. "You did say 'yet,' right?"

"Yeah. He's not going to hide forever, just long enough for me to get my affairs in order."

"You're going with him," Steve stated.

"Yes."

"Why did you lie to Thor? You know that you're his sister," he asked her.

"I'm not really sure," she answered. "It just doesn't feel like the right time, yet."

Sighing, Steve shrugged. "Thanks for the scarf," he said, shoving the bundle under his arm. "I'll keep Thor off your tail for a few days, maybe a week, as long as you can promise that Loki will stay out of trouble, but then I'm going to bring Thor to your apartment."

"You're very sweet, Steve. Thank you."

Steve left and Sarah walked out to the main part of the store. Gee was busy helping a customer. Sarah decided that she might be ready to run the store sooner than she had originally expected, which would make Bob happy.

When the customers left, Gee started chattering almost non-stop about Thor and Steve...but mostly Steve. She clearly had a crush on Steve, but Sarah wasn't sure that Gee realized it. Sarah would have to do something to help the two of them break the ice. "Where's Loki?" Gee asked, abruptly.

Sarah smiled. "How long have you known?" Sarah asked.

"Since Thor walked in," Gee began. "I knew something was going on when you sent Loki into the backroom, but then when Steve and Thor started asking questions, it was pretty obvious to me what was going on."

"I'm sorry," Sarah told her. "I just...I love him and..."

Gee held up her hand and Sarah stopped talking. "'I love him,' was all I needed to hear. The two of you, when you look at each other...that comes once in a lifetime."

Relieved and happy to have another ally, Sarah smiled.

* * *

Gee had stuck around through closing. Sarah was pretty sure that as long as she had all of her other affairs in order, she'd be ready to leave in less time than she had originally planned. She was a little embarrassed about how excited she got at the idea.

* * *

The next day was Gee's birthday, and Sarah made cupcakes for her, but did nothing else. She was not sure what Gee would want for a gift, but Sarah was sure she would figure it out before she left.

She was a perfect fit at the bookstore. She was more confident with customers, she was good with money handling, and she was great at knowing which books to buy when people came in with used books. Sarah took her to the bank for the weekly deposit and introduced everyone to Gee. Sarah suggested to Bob that Gee was ready to run the store after five days of training, and he told Sarah that he deferred to her judgement.

Sarah and Loki decided that it would be best for Loki to avoid the bookstore all together, now that Thor was looking for him, but Loki did not mind, too much. Sarah's apartment was small, but fascinating to him.

Plus, after the first day, he started helping Sarah by packing her clothes and other assorted things that she showed him in the morning. By the end of the fifth day of Gee's training, they had gotten through all of Sarah's perishable food, and all but a few of her belongings were packed. She ended up donating her books to the bookstore after Loki assured her that they would be able to visit Earth occasionally if she felt the need to read any of her "Earthy literature," as Loki called it.

The manager had found a suitable renter for Sarah's apartment who was ready to move in as soon as Sarah moved out.

Everything was going perfectly until Sarah decided that she wanted to knit Loki something. He expressed no interest in anything she offered. They got into their first real fight about it.

"What is your problem?" Sarah had asked, frustrated and angry.

"I do not want to you knit me anything out of guilt, Sarah," he told her, equally upset.

"You are being ridiculous!" she yelled. "I have nothing to feel guilty about, and I don't feel guilty! Forget it, I don't WANT to make you anything!" she yelled, stomping into her bedroom and slamming the door shut.

She pulled out some soft, gray yarn and her needles and immediately started making a scarf for Sam, her favorite security guard.

Loki had badly wanted to force the door open and yell some more, but he sat on the couch and fumed for a while, instead. Slowly, as he started to calm down, he realized that Sarah's knitting was personal for her, and that she did not offer to knit things for people often. He also remembered that he would be taking her away from the only world she had ever known, and that he really needed to be more patient with her.

Softly, he knocked on her bedroom door. "Go away," she yelled.

"Sarah, please, let me in," he begged.

"No, go away."

"Sarah," he said, drawing out the name, using his most charming tone of voice, "please, my love? I want to talk about this."

Sarah sighed, putting her knitting down, then got up and opened the door. She did not look at Loki, but she sat down on her bed and picked her knitting back up.

"Now who is THAT for?" Loki asked, feeling his temper flaring up again.

"Sam." She practically spat the word at him.

Loki took a deep breath, then started talking. "Sarah, we... I do not know. I love you. I hate that Steve got to spend a year with you while I sat in prison. I know that you do not feel the same way about him that you feel about me, but it still hurts me that you two have a full year of memories together."

Sarah was still very angry. She wanted to take her needles and stab Loki with them, but only because she knew it would not be fatal. She took a deep breath, then let it out, instead. "I'm done, Loki," she told him, and he felt his heart sink into his stomach, incorrectly thinking that Sarah meant she was done with the relationship. "I'm just not going to offer to knit anything for you. It's not worth the fight. Until you can be an adult about it, consider my offer rescinded."

Smirking, feeling unbelievably relieved now that he knew Sarah was not leaving him, Loki left the doorway and sat down next to Sarah. He was still livid, but she had never been sexier to him than she was right then. "I love you," he told her.

She put her knitting down and stared at him, clearly still furious herself.

"I would love to wear something that you make me, but let's get to Asgard, first. Please."

Picking her knitting back up, Sarah said, "I need time. Give me some space. I'll find you when I'm ready to talk."

Loki nodded, got up, and left. He closed the door behind him.

Sarah waited a few minutes, then got up and tossed her knitting on her rocking chair. The woman's shelter she had donated to had taken all of her bedroom furniture except her bed and that chair. She still had her kitchen table and chairs, and her couch was still in her living room, but her TV and TV-table were gone, along with her coffee table and end table. She kept one lamp, which was sitting on her floor. Sarah was going to call the shelter when she was ready for them to take the rest of the stuff.

Sarah's rose had returned to the position of honor, at the center of her kitchen table.

She sat next to Loki on the couch. "I'm still mad at you," she told him.

"Ok," he told her.

They sat together in silence for a few minutes, then Sarah rested her head on his shoulder. "You're an asshole," she told him.

He nodded. "Sometimes," he agreed.

"I love you," she finished.

Faster than her eyes could follow, Loki grabbed her hair and gently pulled it, so she was looking into his eyes. "I fear that I am ill prepared to be in a relationship with you." He kissed her forcefully, possessively, then pulled away, his hand still buried in her hair. "You do not fear me," he stated, kissing her again, then stopping, again, "even though you should." He pulled her hair a little harder and used his body to show her that he wanted her laying down. "I fear that I will never stop hurting you." On top of her now, Loki kissed the side of Sarah's neck.

"Do you really think I could be content with anyone else after having you?" she asked him.

Loki looked down at Sarah, grinning wickedly. "It does not matter what I think, as long as you know that you are mine." She felt his hands unbuttoning, then unzipping her pants.

With anyone else, Sarah would have fought. She was still angry, and she had never understood the draw to angry sex before. Laying under Loki as he tore off her pants, though, she realized that she absolutely needed him to have her, right there, on the couch.

"Don't move," he growled as he got off of her to take off his pants. As he embraced his anger, his eyes glowed red and his skin shimmered and turned blue.

Sarah felt a thrill ripple through her that she had never experienced before as Loki, in his frost giant form, climb back on top of her. It did not even cross her mind to try to stop him.

* * *

"I should not have done that," Loki told Sarah as they snuggled, still naked, on the couch. Loki looked like himself again, long dark hair and all.

"Hmm?" Sarah asked, snuggling into Loki's chest.

"I lost control, and I'm concerned that my shift to and from my frost giant form might have been detectable. It might lead my brother here."

Sarah considered that for a minute then said, "Fuck it, let 'im come." All her affairs were more or less taken care of.

"Maybe you should call Steve, then, and allow him tell Thor," Loki suggested.

She used her telekinesis to bring her cell phone to her and caught it. She called Steve. "Tell him," she said, simply, then hung up. They both got up, picked up their clothes, and walked into Sarah's bedroom. They closed the door behind them.

* * *

Steve had just decided to tell Thor everything when the phone rang. "Hello?" he said.

It was Sarah. "Tell him," she said, then hung up. Steve went to tell Thor like he had already planned, but now he went with a much lighter heart.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As Thor and Captain America left Stark Towers, Tony pulled up in a 2014 Audi R8. He saw that Thor, who looked angry, and Steve, looking very ashamed. "This I have to see," he said to himself. He parked his car in the garage under Stark Towers and pulled out the suitcase that he kept him his trunk.

He opened it, and an Iron man suit popped out. Tony no longer had the arc reactor in his chest, but the suit was fully charged, so it should not cause him any problems. He flew and landed next to Thor.

"Hey there big guy, need a hand?" he asked, his smirk obvious by his tone.

Thor glanced at Iron Man, then looked straight ahead again.

"What is going on, here?" Stark asked, sensing a lot of hostility, and zero directed at him for a change.

"Ask Captain America," Thor spat. He was in a vile temper.

"Cap?" Tony asked.

"Loki's here," was all he said.

Tony felt a panic attack rising. "Here? Here where? I mean where, here? Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Be at ease, Tony Stark. Steve believes that my brother is in love, and that he is not a threat to Earth. I find the idea of my brother loving anyone other than himself laughable, but we shall see."

Panic attack receding, Tony found himself identifying with Loki, and not for the first time. Before Pepper, no one had believed Tony capable of falling in love, either. It really did just take meeting and being accepted by the right person.

The three super-heroes walked in a triangular formation with Captain America leading. The busy streets of New York parted before them, and they arrived at Sarah's apartment fairly quickly. "Let us in," Captain America said into the loud speaker. Thor and Iron man were also visible to the security guard on duty. He quickly buzzed them in.

"We have business," Thor said, then gestured to Captain America to lead the way.

"Wait wait wait," Tony said. "Do you have a skeleton key?" he asked the security guard.

"Uh...what...uh...floor?" he stammered.

Tony looked at Steve, who held up three fingers. "Third floor," Tony said.

The security guard removed a key from his keyring and tried to hand it to Tony, but he nodded to Thor. "I don't like to be handed things..." he said, "plus I can't really grip a key in this suit."

Thor grabbed the key and said, "Thank you, sir. We will return this to you as soon as we are done with it."

The three super-heroes got into formation again, and walked up the stairs. Thor handed Steve the key. When he got to Sarah's room, he turned around and stopped Thor from barging in. "Listen to me, Thor. If you go in with...hammer...raised," (he had been about to say "guns blazing,") "your brother is unlikely to react well. Sarah is a personal friend of mine. Promise me that you will not harm her."

Everyone knew that Thor could have easily picked up Steve and removed him, but even though he was angry, Thor respected Steve. He nodded. "I will sneak in like a mouse, and as long as they offer no resistance, I promise not to harm either one of them. That is the best that I can give you."

Steve nodded, unlocked the door, then stepped aside.

* * *

Iron man stood to the left of Sarah's door, and Captain America stood to the right. "How do you think it's going in there?" Tony asked.

Steve shrugged uncomfortably. He felt like a traitor.

Tony lifted the Iron man mask and looked at Steve. "Oh. You're sweet on her," he said.

Shrugging uncomfortably again, Steve said, "Maybe a little, but she's a friend. I don't like doing this to her."

Stark nodded. "Thor won't hurt her. You know that," he said.

Steve shook his head. "You didn't see her after the invasion. Whatever Loki's feelings are for her, she loves him more passionately than anyone I have ever seen."

Tilting his head, Tony said, "But you really believe that the loves her."

"I saw them together once. Sort of. It doesn't matter, does it? Asgardian justice."

Tony had nothing to say to that.

* * *

Thor walked into Sarah's apartment quietly. He crept toward the only door that was closed. Gently, slowly, he opened the door. His hammer glowed bright green, briefly, until he laid eyes on Loki, then it dimmed like a candle and flickered out. The magic was over. He had found his brother.

Loki and the woman Thor had met early in the week lay together, under her covers, sleeping. The woman had her head on his brother's chest, and Loki had both of his arms wrapped around her. Loki looked happy and at peace, which was something Thor had never seen before. He saw the rocking chair with the pile of yarn, and decided to sit for a few minutes to think. He gently moved the yarn to the floor, next to the chair, and sat down.

He waited and watched while the two lovers slept. Neither person rolled away from the other, even though their positions did occasionally shift. They'd move a little, then resettle, arms still wrapped around each other. Thor was already halfway convinced that his brother was in love, but he needed to see him awake.

Thor cleared his throat, then cleared it again, loudly, startling Sarah away.

Clutching the covers to her chest with her left hand, Sarah sat straight up. Gesturing with her right hand, she pulled a pile of four double pointed needles out from under her bed. She shot them directly at Thor's face, but stopped them just short of actually touching him. He raised an eyebrow as Loki sat up.

Loki put his hand on Sarah's shoulder and said, "Peace, my love. 'Tis just our brother." Sarah dropped her hand, and the needles fell to Thor's feet. Turning her back to Thor, Sarah wrapped her arms around Loki and buried her face in his neck. She felt like a little girl again, but this time, there was someone to protect her.

Smiling mischievously at Thor, Loki gestured to Sarah and half shrugged. Then his face got serious as he buried one hand in her hair, gently stroking and petting her. With his other hand, he started rubbing her bare back. "I am in love, brother," he told Thor.

"I want to believe you," Thor told him, "but I just...I cannot trust you. I do not know how to trust you."

"Have I ever lied about love?" Loki asked Thor, quietly.

Thor thought about it. "Not that I can recall," he admitted.

"Sarah, love," he said, softly and warmly. Thor had also never heard Loki use such soothing tones with anyone, especially not a mortal. She looked up at him. "I need you to loosen your grip a little so I can clothe myself."

"He's not taking you away from me again," Sarah said, softly. Both Thor and Loki could hear that she was on the edge of tears. "I thought I'd be ok but I'm not ready for this, Loki. I can't lose you again."

Loki looked at Thor and widened his eyes, then nodded at Sarah.

"Oh! Uhm. I will not take him back until we get all of this sorted out. I give you my word as a warrior and a prince," Thor said, wanting to comfort the woman who so clearly loved his brother.

Sarah let go of Loki, but grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around herself. Loki shimmered into his Asgard-clothes, to match Thor. Sarah looked from Loki to Thor, then back to Loki. "I think I'll take a shower." She shot a look at Thor. "If you break your word to me, I assure you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Thor's eyes widened in surprise, then he laughed. "I believe you," he told her, "and I think I understand some of why you love her," he told Loki.

"So you do believe me," Loki said, smiling.

"Maybe," Thor told him, trying to look stern again, but failing. He gave up and laughed again. "I have missed you, brother."

Sarah clutched the blanket to herself and stood up, fully covered. She walked into her bathroom, but glanced at the rose on the way by, which was pulsing a little more quickly than it usually did. 'Are you nervous or excited?' she thought to herself. 'Excited,' a voice whispered in her head. She trusted it.

Turning the water on, Sarah let the blanket fall. There was a towel hanging on her shower bar, and she knew there were a couple of dresses still hanging in her closet. She stepped into the water.

* * *

"Why did you keep this from me, Loki?" Thor asked after he heard the shower start. "I would have helped you. You cloaked yourself and her from Heimdal, and you snuck away the first time someone stopped watching you."

"Would you have? Truly? Because I thought about it, and I would not have helped me in your position. I knew that you would need to see for yourself."

"You do love this woman," Thor stated.

"Yes," Loki agreed. "Ever since I met her, over a year ago."

Thor shrugged. "Father said to use my judgement as far as how to punish you. I think that forcing you to spend a year in ja...why did you try to conquer earth, Loki?" he asked, suddenly beginning to understand.

Loki's eye darted toward Sarah's bathroom, then he shrugged. "I knew I could protect her and screw up the invasion. The Chitauri were coming anyway, brother."

Nodding, Thor said, "It has been much the same in Asgard...and I wish that I could believe you."

Shaking his head, Loki said, "I would do anything for that woman," then he looked down at his hands, ashamed of his admission.

Thor stood up and clapped Loki on his shoulder. "THAT I believe," Thor told him.

* * *

Loki and Thor talked about Asgard and their father for a while, then Loki remembered to tell Thor that Sarah was Thor's blood-sister, but he was not quite sure how to bring it up. He took a deep breath, then let it out. Shrugging, he decided to just spill. "Sarah is Odin's daughter," Loki told Thor.

At first, Thor thought that Loki was joking, but looking at his face, Thor realized that Loki was completely serious. "Are you certain?" he asked.

"Well, her birth mother told her that he is. I supposed that I am not completely certain, but I am reasonably so," Loki answered.

Thor shook his head, then smiled. "Loki, you fiend," he told him. "You know that I have to take you both back, now, so that our father can decide what to do with...my...sister." He furrowed his brow. "I think for the first time I am glad that you are not truly a son of Odin," Thor mumbled.

Loki laughed, then, loudly enough that Steve and Tony heard. Steve had already returned the key to the security desk, so Tony said, loudly, "Is everything alright in there?"

It was Thor's turn to laugh loudly. "Yes, yes," he said, getting up. "Do you think Sarah will object to me letting Tony Stark and Steve Rogers in?"

"She might," Loki said, shrugging. "I can ask her," he said, just as he heard the shower stop.

Loki knocked on the door. "It seems my brother brought back-up to deal with me. Tony Stark and your friend, Steve Rogers. May we let them in?"

"Huh? Is everything ok?" she asked.

"I think so." He looked at Thor. "For now, anyway. May we let them in?"

"I trust your judgement. Grab me a dress from my closet first, please," she told Loki.

Smiling, Loki grabbed Sarah's purple dress. It had a slit up one side, and he badly wanted to see how she looked in it. Even though she had not asked, he also grabbed her a new pair of underwear, which she was keeping in a small box under her bed.

"May I come in?" he asked, opening the door just a little and letting some steam out.

"Please," she told him, "but quickly." She paused. "Have Thor let his friends in, too," she said, having a hard time keeping the bitterness out of her voice. She was upset that Steve had accompanied Thor.

Loki nodded toward Thor, then the door to the apartment before walking into the bathroom with Sarah.

He looked at her glistening nakedness, and smiled. She smiled back at him, but shooed him away when he reached for her with his free hand. He half shrugged and smirked, handing her the dress she asked for, and the underwear he had snagged for her.

She slipped the dress on over her still-damp body, then stepped into her underwear. Sarah grabbed the towel from the floor and rubbed some of the water out of her hair with it before hanging it back up. She ran a brush quickly through her hair.

"You are a vision of beauty, Sarah," Loki told her, reaching out to wrap his arms around her. He held her for a few seconds, then let her go. He opened the door for her and held it for her to walk through first, then scooped the blanket for her bed up.

"Iron man, Captain America, and Thor," she said, looking around her kitchen. "I don't think my apartment is big enough for this many heroes." She smiled at Steve as he took his hood off. Looking at Steve, Sarah understood now why he had come. The stress on his face said that he knew Sarah might be very upset with him, which was all she needed to see to forgive him. He had come for the same reason he had kept her secret. He was protecting her. He returned her smile, looking relieved.

Loki snuck out behind her, then dropped her blanket onto her bed. As he was stepping out of her bedroom, he looked directly at Iron man. "Tony Stark," Loki said, "can you forgive me for throwing you out your window?"

Tony flipped up his mask. His eyes narrowed, then he smiled. "No harm done, I suppose. Although I am prone to panic attacks now. Something about speeding to my death while I wait for my suit to catch up..." Thor shot Tony a look, and for a change, he stopped talking. "Really, though, no hard feelings."

Looking around the room, Tony smiled. "This calls for a celebration, I think. I'm going to fly Pepper out, and your Jane if you want. Cap, you have anyone?"

Steve started to shake his head, but Sarah cut in. "Gee. She's a doll, and she's your date, Steve. No arguing."

Tony and Thor both shot Steve a look, but Steve and Loki just smiled at each other.

Sarah walked over and grabbed her cell phone off of the floor where she had dropped it, near her couch, and called Gee while Tony called Pepper. "Gee, are you busy tonight?" she asked.

"Uh, no, I was just going to take a bath and go to bed. Why?" she replied.

"I'm asking you out, for Steve," she told her, and the squeal on the other end of the phone was loud enough that Sarah had to hold it away from her ear. Thor, Tony, and Loki all shot Steve an amused look. He shrugged.

"So is that a yes, then?" Sarah asked.

"Of course! Yes! Wait, how old is he?" she asked.

Sarah covered the phone. "How old are you, Steve?"

He shrugged. "Ninety-three," he told her. Sarah glared at him, and he smirked. "Twenty-three."

Everyone in the room shot Steve a look, and he turned bright red. "What?" he asked. Everyone kept staring at him. "What!?"

"You're just a kid, Steve," Sarah told him.

"Oh, that," he said, flashing her a goofy grin.

"He's twenty-three. Is that a deal breaker for you?" Sarah asked, knowing that it wasn't.

"No, of course not. I just had to make sure he wasn't in his thirties, you know?"

Sarah laughed, then looked around the room. "Yeah, I understand. No twenty year old wants to date someone as old as thirty," she said, grinning around the room. Everyone except Steve started laughing.

"Is he going to pick me up, or should I just meet him somewhere?"

"I'll send him over," Sarah said. "What's your address?"

Gee gave Sarah her address, which she then told Steve.

"What time?" Gee asked.

"Oh, uh, Tony, when is this thing starting?" Sarah asked him.

He shrugged. "Now? As soon as we're at Stark Towers. My room is...well, you'll see. It'll be fun."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

As they walked to Stark Towers, Steve lead, followed by Tony, then Sarah and Loki, then Thor. Steve veered off when appropriate to pick Gee up.

Loki had his arm around Sarah's shoulders, and had decided to stay in his Asgard clothes. Everyone else was dressed up, after all.

When they got to the Tower, Tony said, "Suitcase," and his suit flew off of him and reformed into a nondescript looking suitcase. "Shall we?" he said, scanning his palm to open the door. He held the door open for Sarah then walked in behind her. Loki and Thor followed.

Tony hit the "up" button for the elevator in the lobby, then hit the button for the top floor when everyone else was in it.

Sarah looked around as the doors closed, and felt suddenly claustrophobic. She started to hyperventilate, and Loki wordlessly grabbed her and hugged her. He gently pressed her head into his chest and kissed the top of her head.

Tony and Thor looked at the couple, then at each other, and shrugged.

The ride was over fairly quickly. Tony left first, followed by Thor, then Sarah and Loki. Loki looked around and cringaed. "Is your Hulk hiding here somewhere?" he asked. The three men laughed, but Sarah looked at them confused. Loki pointed to two spots on the floor with some slightly off-color tiles and said, "This is where the Hulk took me, and swung me around like a child's toy, breaking the floor in those two spots." It was Sarah's turn tot cringe.

"I actually have the footage of that, if you want to see it," Tony announced. Everyone looked at him like he was insane, which he ignored. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir, right away, sir," Jarvis answered.

"Actually, let's wait for everyone to get here," Tony said, looking at Loki. "You're going to love it," Tony assured him.

Sarah started to hear something from outside. "Is that a helicopter?" she asked no one in particular.

"That'll be Pepper and Jane, I think," Tony said, looking out the giant window. "Jarvis? Open the window."

"Right away, sir," the voice responded. The chopper noise got significantly louder as the giant window opened.

Everyone watched Pepper, then Jane stepped off the helicopter. Pepper seemed to take everything as a matter of course, but Jane looked livid.

As soon as both women were in the suite, Tony said, "Jarvis?" and the windows shut, effectively cutting off the noise of the helicopter leaving. Both women noticed Loki at the same time, and said, "What is HE doing here?"

Sarah squinted at them, but Loki just laughed, sauntered over the the couch, and sat down. He looked at Sarah and patted the spot next to him. She smirked and sat next to him. He put his arm around her and ignored everyone else.

Jane looked at Thor. "You pulled me away from my work AGAIN, Thor. Why THIS time?"

Thor gestured to a corner, away from the rest of the group. "Jane. I have missed you, too."

Jane blushed, but followed Thor.

Pepper shrugged, then sat down in a chair. Tony walked over to her and stood behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

Loki looked around the room. Not long ago, all of these people had counted themselves his enemy. Tony, at least, still did, but he was willing to put that aside...why? Loki wondered.

"Sir, Steve is back," Jarvis spoke.

"Well, send him up," Tony said, walking to the bar. "Jarvis, start the party." The lights dimmed and some music started playing. "What is everyone drinking?"

"Surprise me," Loki said, absentmindedly playing with Sarah's hair.

* * *

The eight people chatted awkwardly for a while, paired off as couples, until Sarah stood up to make herself another screw driver. She looked around and announced, "For fucks sake, guys, Loki isn't going to murder anyone! Lighten up!"

Loki smiled wickedly, and Thor laughed, but everyone else cringed, guiltily.

Looking around again, Sarah's eyes settled on Tony, who seemed to enjoy talking about himself. "How did you become Iron man?" she asked him.

"Oh, come on," Tony said, "everyone already knows that story."

Pepper looked up at him. "Actually, Tony, we don't. You never wanted to talk much about it."

Tony shrugged, then started talking about the experience of being captured, almost dying, the scientist who helped him, then died...he wove his story through having to kill Obadiah Stane. He talked about Rhodey and him stealing one of Tony's suits...He talked about Ivan Vanko, and everyone in the room saw how much it hurt him that, again, he had to kill someone to stop them.

Stark looked up at Sarah, who was still standing at the bar. No one had moved since Tony started talking. "Gin and tonic? You know how to make one?"

Nodding, Sarah made Tony his drink, then walked over and handed it to him. As she did, Tony grabbed her wrist and held it. "Your boyfriend caused the deaths of hundreds of people. He murdered almost 90 himself. You need to understand that." Everyone in the room stood up and tensed.

Loki was instantly at her side. "Get your hand off of her," he growled, eyes glowing red.

"No, Loki, I'm fine." She held up the hand that Tony did not have. "I'm fine."

Tony met Loki's eyes and glared at him, then he turned his attention back to Sarah. "He killed men and women with dreams and families, Sarah. He killed my friend."

The tension in the room was palpable, and Loki could feel the other three men in the room wanting an excuse to take out their frustration on him. Then he smiled, realizing that the best mischief he could create would be to tell the truth.

"I did not kill Phil Coulson," Loki told everyone in the room. Now everyone, including Sarah, was staring at him.

"Bullshit," Tony said, releasing Sarah's wrist. Sarah did not move.

"Did you see him die?" he asked Tony, then turned to look at everyone else in the room. "Did any of you see him die?"

Tony's face darkened. "Son of a bitch," he said.

Loki walked back to the couch and sat down. Everyone in the room followed him with their eyes.

"Are you telling me that Nick Fury murdered Coulson in cold blood?" Steve asked.

Shaking his head, Loki gestured lazily at Tony. "He understands," Loki said.

"Phil Coulson is still alive," Tony stated. "Son of a bitch," he repeated, taking a sip of the drink Sarah made him. "This is great, by the way," he said, looking at her.

Loki looked around the room, then realized he had everyone's attention. "If it's all the same, I think I'll tell my side of the invasion." Loki stood up, but everyone else except Sarah sat down.

"What would you do for love?" he asked, looking in turn at Thor, Steve, and Tony. His gaze lingered on Tony.

"Would you start a war? Allow a building to burn? Kill innocent men who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time working for the wrong side?"

Tony looked down at his feet.

Loki looked back at Steve. "Would you risk your life, knowing that your sacrifice will save hers? Would you get innocent men killed in a half cocked rescue mission because she merely suggested that you to do it?"

It was Steve's turn to look down at his feet.

"And we both know what you would sacrifice for love," Loki said, meeting his brother's gaze.

Thor looked at Jane, then also found a spot on the floor to stare at.

He walked over to Sarah and put his arm around her. "When I went into the abyss, and you thought I was dead, brother, I had actually landed on your precious Earth. This woman...this radiant, brilliant, delicate woman...she found me. She took me in. She accepted me, from the beginning, for who I am. I do not accept myself, but Sarah..."

Sarah leaned into Loki, and he drew her closer to him.

Everyone else in the room thought about what Loki had said. Pepper did not accept Tony, even though she loved him. Jane did not accept Thor, either. Steve and Gee had both failed to accept themselves. They all found themselves identifying with Loki, completely against their will.

"So I invaded Earth to keep her safe, and there is not a single one of you in this room who could honestly tell me that you would not have done the exact same thing," Loki said. "When Thanos offers you an army, you take it, and you pretend that you are trying to win." Loki took a deep breath. "As I said earlier, to my brother, the Chitauri were coming no matter what I did."

"You should have told me, brother," Thor said, quietly. "We would have found a better way."

Loki shook his head. "I did not think you would come, and I did not want you involved. I tried to keep you out of it. I knew that silly cage would not hold you, but I had assumed it would slow you down a little." Loki laughed. "Do you honestly think that I am stupid enough to let my temper get the best of me when I am in a room alone with the Hulk? Tony, can you play that footage you mentioned earlier?"

"Jarvis? Play 'Loki-ragdoll,'" Tony said, smirking at Loki.

A large screen slowly lowered from the ceiling, and a projector also came down. Everyone watched Loki get thrown into the room they were in. He stopped the Hulk, then started screaming at him. Thor furrowed his brow.

"You are many things, but 'stupid' is not one of them," Thor said to Loki, "and that was stupid."

"You were going to kill an old man because he stood up to you," Steve pointed out from the corner. "And I saw you. You were having fun."

Loki shrugged. "I am a god. I admit, I do not value life the way mortals do." He smiled, devilishly. "Of course I had fun. Everything I did was a lie, and I made glorious mischief."

There was silence, then Tony said, "Sarah, can you make everyone a gin and tonic? Gee opened her mouth to protest, but Tony pointed at her and said, "No words. Today, you are 21." She closed her mouth And shrugged.

* * *

After Sarah handed out the drinks to everyone, Tony's party started to liven up. People talked and interacted, joking and laughing. No one got drunk, and Thor and Loki sang some old Asgardian battle hymns together, much to everyone's delight.

When people started getting tired, Tony offered everyone rooms, but only Jane accepted. Thor looked at her curiously until he realized she did not know he already had one.

"You can stay with me if you wish," Thor told her.

Jane tripped over her own two feet and Thor caught her, smirking. They smiled at each other.

Steve looked at Gee. "I can walk you home," he said to her, feeling suddenly shy.

"I think I'd like to stay with you if you don't mind."

Steve flashed her a grin. "No, ma'am. I would like that."

Sarah was sitting with her legs draped across Loki's lap. They looked at each other, then looked at Tony. "No, thank you," Sarah said.

Everyone except Loki looked at her, surprised, but he understood. She did not trust Tony not to bug their room. Loki agreed with her.

They said their goodbyes and left.

"Would you like to take the stairs?" Loki asked her as they approached the elevator.

"Hmm? Oh...no. I'll be ok. It was just something about being in the box with two gods and a Stark," she told him. "I just lost my center."

Loki nodded. He held her close for the elevator ride, anyway.

* * *

Sarah looked around her apartment. She was sitting at her kitchen table, knitting Sam's scarf. It was almost dawn. Loki had fallen asleep almost immediately after they had finished making love, but Sarah was still wide awake, over an hour later. She sighed, cursing Thor for the way he had just been waiting for her and Loki to wake up.

"Sarah?" Loki called from her bedroom.

"I'm in the kitchen," she answered.

As Loki got out of bed, a pair of pajama pants shimmered into existence around his bottom half. Sarah was in an old, threadbare nighty that left very little to the imagination.

He watched her from the doorway for a few seconds, (click click click went her needles,) then stood behind her and started rubbing her shoulders. "Anything you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Mmm," she moaned, putting the needles down. "I'm not comfortable here anymore," she admitted.

"Because of Thor?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered. "But not him, in particular. I don't know. I don't feel safe anymore. Anywhere. Ever."

"That thing you do with your needles is pretty amazing," he told her.

She shrugged. "It does me zero good if someone slits my throat in my sleep," she pointed out.

Loki frowned, but did not say anything. He wanted to comfort Sarah, but he knew that anything he said would be a lie. He kept rubbing her shoulders, instead.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Thor and Tony said their goodbyes to Jane and Pepper, respectively. Thor planned to head over to Sarah's apartment as soon as he changed into less conspicuous clothes.

Steve walked Gee to her apartment in the morning, kissing her on her cheek. They had spent the night together, and Steve liked her a lot, but they had not gotten physical with each other. Being old-fashion, Steve preferred to get to know a woman before being intimate with her. Gee seemed to think it quaint and attractive. They made plans to have lunch together later that day.

* * *

The sun had been up for several hours when Loki finally managed to get Sarah to sleep. Licking his lips a bit and smirking, he walked into her kitchen, closing the door behind him.

"Loki!" Loki heard from the hallway. Growling under his breath, he opened Sarah's door.

"Shut up and come in," he said, spotting Thor down the hall. He was wearing clothes from Midgard instead of his armor. "Sarah has been up all night, and she literally just fell asleep ten minutes ago."

Thor smiled and shook his head. It was odd seeing Loki care more for someone than he did for himself. "Sorry," he said softly, walking into the apartment. Loki closed and locked the door behind him.

"What do you need?" Loki asked Thor as he settled into one of the kitchen chairs.

"We have much to discuss. You know that," Thor told him.

"Mmm," Loki answered. "Like my punishment?"

Thor shook his head. "No. No, I do not have it in me to punish you for being in love, and as you said last night, as gods, we are not taught to have much respect for mortal life, and so I do not have it in me to put you back in prison for what you did here...before."

"Then what are we talking about?" Loki asked.

"I have to bring you home."

"Yes," Loki said, waiting for more.

"I have to make a decision about Sarah."

"It should be hers to make," Loki said, eyes darting to Sarah's bedroom door.

Thor looked at Loki and smile. "I agree, but I had to make sure."

Loki smirked. "Always with the tests."

Thor shrugged.

The two Asgardians stared at each other for a few seconds, then Thor said, "Is she really Father's daughter?"

Loki shrugged, then nodded. "I believe so."

"You know that might complicate things."

Loki shrugged again, indicated that he did not care. "I love her."

Thor leaned forward and clapped Loki on the shoulder. "I know. I will speak for the two of you."

Tilting his head, Loki said, "I do not deserve your loyalty."

It was Thor's turn to shrug. "Well, even if that is true, she deserves it. My sister," Thor said, trying to get used to saying it. "I have a sister," he said again, shaking his head.

"Come on, Thor. I imagine you want to leave as soon as possible?"

Thor nodded.

"Help me break down her furniture and get her dishes packed," Loki said, moving the rose from the table to the counter.

"What is that?" Thor asked, looking at the rose. He had noticed it the day before, but had forgotten about it.

"Oh, uh, it is a rose," he answered, blushing.

Thor started laughing, but quickly put a hand over his mouth. "You are truly, deeply in love with her," Thor marveled. "And all that about you being 'above' these people," Thor said, smirking.

"Well, technically, she's a half-breed," Loki said, eyes glistening with mischief.

"Is this your way of telling me that she's STILL better than a mere mortal?"

Loki shrugged. "Better for me, brother. Better for me."

Thor smiled and shrugged.

* * *

Sarah woke up slowly. At first she did not realize that she heard two male voices in her apartment, but when she did realize, she was not worried. As she gradually became more aware of the world around her, she recognized one voice as Loki's. She was not completely sure, but the other voice sounded like it might be Thor.

She looked down at her threadbare nighty and sighed. She opened her closet and saw that there was exactly one dress left. It was black and knee length with some lace around the bottom and thin, lacy straps. She took off her nighty and slipped the dress over her head. She zipped it herself, then opened her bedroom door.

What she saw made her smile. Thor and Loki were sitting on her couch, laughing. She watched for a few minutes, quietly, from her doorway and realized that they were talking about Loki's most recent time on Earth. She heard Loki laugh again, then saw him shake his head rapidly. As he did, his hair changed and started looking the way it had when Sarah dyed and cut it for him. He even had the glasses on when he stopped.

Thor slapped his knee and laughed even harder. "I never would have recognized you looking like this!" he said, gesturing toward Loki's hair.

"That was the idea," Sarah said, smiling, from the door. Both men jumped a little, then smiled back at her. "And you've been busy!" Sarah exclaimed. "My dishes, my clothes...did you wash my laundry?" she asked, looking from the clean, folded laundry to Loki. He had even boxed it for her.

He shrugged and smiled.

"Thank you," she said, looking at Loki. "Both," she added, turning her head to look at Thor.

* * *

Sarah, Loki, and Thor finished packing everything up, including Sarah's bedding. She used her cell phone to call the woman's shelter. They would arrive shortly.

Thor had asked Sarah, very seriously, if she was sure that she wanted to go with him when he returned with Loki to Asgard. She told him that her place was by Loki's side, and Thor nodded. He did not ask her anymore about it.

While they waited in the living room, Thor told Sarah about two rather epic pranks that Loki had played, both on Thor and their friends. The two Thor told were both about pranks-gone-wrong, and Sarah suspected that it was not by mistake.

"Any successful pranks?" she asked, shooting Loki a grin.

Grinning devilishly at Sarah, Loki said, "Eh, I do it for a love of mischief. I do not have to win."

Sarah laughed, knowing that Loki was actually telling her that he had no intention of showing his hand to Thor unless he absolutely had to, even when he had already won.

* * *

When the two women from the shelter showed up, Sarah buzzed them in and told them her apartment number. One of the women was about Sarah's height and the other one was a little taller.

Thor and Loki took one look at the women, then smirked at each other. "May we offer assistance?" Thor asked.

The women looked nervously at Thor, then at Sarah. "He's cool," she told them. "He's, uh...he's family." They relaxed a little, but not very much. Sarah understood. Loki was a head taller than her, and fairly broad across the shoulders. Thor made him look small.

Sarah and each woman grabbed a box while Thor and Loki team-carried her couch, then her bed. With the five people, they managed to get the remainder of Sarah's apartment packed into the van pretty quickly.

* * *

Sarah looked around her apartment one last time, holding the rose that Loki had made for her. Loki carried a small box with a couple of her favorite outfits, Loki's favorite dress, (the purple one,) a few books she realized that she couldn't part with, and all of her knitting needles, including the scarf she was going to finish for Sam.

Thor suggested that they stay the last day or two in Stark Towers, and Loki and Sarah agreed. They had both gotten over their distrust of Stark when they realized that it didn't matter if he taped them.

"Am I broken?" she whispered, mostly to herself, upon realizing that she would not at all miss her apartment.

"Hmm?" Loki asked, turning his head toward her.

She chuckled. "I asked if I was broken, but the answer is pretty obvious."

Thor looked confused, but Loki understood. "It's why we fit together so well," Loki told her.

Thor looked even more confused when Loki's vague non-answer made Sarah's eyes sparkle with love.

"Let's get out of here," Sarah said, shaking herself a little. She held the door open for Thor and Loki, then locked it behind her.

Sarah dropped her key off at the security desk on her way out. "Who's in tonight?" she asked.

"Oh, uh, Sam," the young woman at the security desk told Sarah, who smiled.

"Excellent," Sarah told her. "Thank you."

They left, heading toward Stark Towers.

* * *

When they arrived, it was late afternoon. Thor let them in by scanning his palm on the scanner located next to the door. As soon as they had entered the lobby, Tony's voice surrounded them.

"Come up to my room," he said. The three companions looked at each other, shrugged, then walked over to the elevator. Thor had taken the box from Loki as soon as they stepped into the lobby. Sarah hit the "up" button.

They got into the elevator and rode it to Tony's suite. He had on a gray tank top and a pair of pajama pants. "Sarah, Loki, welcome back."

Loki grinned. Sarah smiled. They both said, "Thanks."

"So what changed your mind?" he asked.

Loki opened his mouth to spin some subtle lie, but Sarah beat him to it.

"I pulled my head out of my ass. It was a generous offer," she told him, looking appropriately annoyed with herself.

Loki's grin widened.

Tony addressed Thor. "Bring that box to room 536, Thor." He turned to Loki and said, "Loki, go with him so you know the way." Thor started moving immediately, but Loki hesitated, remembering how he grabbed Sarah's wrist the day before.

"I promise not to touch her," he told Loki.

Loki looked at Sarah. "Go. I'll be fine. Anything else would be rude, wouldn't it?" she asked, handing Loki the rose.

Clearly unhappy, Loki turned and followed Thor, almost, but not quite stomping. "Loki?" He turned to look at her. "Can you grab that scarf I'm working on?"

He smirked. "Sure." He left, and the doors closed behind him.

After the doors finished closing, Tony said to Sarah, "When do you leave?"

"Oh. Uh. Tomorrow, I guess," she answered.

"I'd like to get really really drunk tonight, with two gods and a super soldier. You in?" he asked Sarah.

"Yeah, sure. What..." Sarah took a deep breath. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

Tony smirked. "It's not obvious?"

Sarah shook her head.

"If I had to pick one person to wish an eternity of misery on, it would be your boyfriend." He took a deep breath. "Or it would have been, yesterday." Tony paused again. "I think I need a drink now," he said, walking to his bar. "You want one? I'm having one."

Shrugging, Sarah said, "Sure. Thanks."

"Whiskey good? I'm having whiskey."

"Uh. Yeah, please. And thank you," she replied, still off balance from the sudden shift in topics.

Tony got two glasses and tossed a couple of ice cubes into them. He poured about a shot into each, then walked back to Sarah and handed her a glass.

"To love," he said, clinking his glass against hers. They both took a sip. It was, hands down, the best tasting whiskey Sarah had ever sipped.

"That's better," Tony said, visibly relaxing. "Alright, as I was saying, until yesterday, Loki was my A-number one completely irredeemable bad guy. He had less to do with my change than you."

Sarah's jaw dropped.

"He...the way he looks at you..." Tony shook his head. "Do not hurt him. Do not break his heart. He will be utter unstoppable if anything ever happens to you, do you understand me?"

"Not really," Sarah said, shaking her head.

"Men like Loki...no." Tony sipped his whiskey. "Men like us," he amended "almost never find someone like you. Someone who loves us, in spite, or even because of, our flaws. You and Pepper are special, and Loki was right. There is absolutely nothing I would not do for her. Not one single thing." He finished off his whiskey.

Sarah was starting to understand. "I won't hurt him if I can help it. I plan to spend the rest of my life with him, if he'll let me."

Tony nodded. "Alright." He looked at her whiskey. "Are you going to finish that?" he asked.

Sarah looked down at the drink in her hand and laughed. "I had forgotten that I had it," she said, taking another sip. "Actually, I better stop. I have a few things to do today." She held the glass up to Tony.

He shrugged, then said, "Actually, could you just put it down? I have a problem with being handed things..."

"You didn't mind yesterday," she pointed out.

"Eeeehhhhhhh," he said shrugging. "My dislike of being handed things was sort of trumped by my dislike of showing my enemies any weakness."

Sarah smiled, then walked over to the bar and put her drink on it. She sat down on the couch. Tony walked over to the bar and dumped the contents of Sarah's glass into his own.

"Jarvis, open the door when Thor and Loki get back," he said, settling into an armchair.

* * *

Sarah was out on her own, walking from Stark Towers to the bookstore. She wanted to say bye to Gee, and she wanted to do it alone, so when Steve got in, she left, taking Sam's now-finished scarf with her. She had managed to finish it while they were waiting for Steve to get back to Stark Towers. The scarf was a simple gray colored ribbed scarf, and Sarah was pretty sure that Sam would love it.

Loki had expressed a desire to go with her, of course, but she shook her head. They settled on him walking her outside.

When they got to the lobby, Loki tried one more time to convince her to bring him.

"This is stuff I want to do alone. Stay, drink. Have fun," she told him.

He grinned, then kissed her. Sarah folded the scarf and tucked it under her arm, then left. He watched her leave until she was no longer visible, then went back to Tony's suite.

Sarah checked the time and decided to stop by the bookstore first. "Hello, Gee," she said, smiling.

"Sarah!" she said, practically running over to hug her. "Steve is wonderful! Thank you so much for introducing us! We had lunch, and we will again tomorrow, and he kissed me! On the cheek, but for him, that's huge!"

"I'm happy for you," she said, reaching into her pocket, "and I have something for you," She tossed Gee her phone. "Happy belated birthday. I upgraded like, three months ago, so it's pretty new."

"Oh, I can't accept this," Gee said, shocked.

"Then throw it in the garbage. Or sell it. I have no need for it where I'm going," Sarah told her, smiling sadly.

"Tonight, then?" Gee asked, sadly.

Sarah nodded.

"Well, uh, keep in touch if you can," Gee told her.

"You better believe it," she told Gee.

Next, Sarah walked to her bank. She closed out her account. There was just over $1000 in it. Not much, but it was hers. She put the money in an envelope, then folded the envelope and put it into her bra, between her breasts.

She headed to her (old) apartment building next. "Hey, Sam!" she said, waving at the camera, "Lemme in!"

He hit the button and buzzed her in.

"Hi Sarah. Did you forget your key?" he asked, reaching for the floor key.

"Not exactly," she told him.

He looked at her, then smiled sadly. "You're leaving," he said.

"Yeah. It's time." She took the scarf out from under her arm. "But I made you this," she said, handing him the scarf.

He unfolded it and looked at it. "It's beautiful. Thank you." He wrapped it around his neck, then took it off. "Soft and cozy, too. This will be great over the winter."

"You've been a good friend, Sam. Thank you."

"Look me up if you ever make it back to New York, alright?"

"Absolutely. I'll miss you," she said.

"I'll miss you, too, kid."

"Good bye."

"Good luck to you."

Not knowing what else to say, Sarah left. She walked directly to Stark Towers, as ready as she would ever be to begin her new life.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sarah arrived back at Stark Towers just before sunset. "You drunk yet?" she asked the room as the doors opened.

Everyone turned to look at Sarah. "You made it!" Steve said, sounding completely sober.

"Come on," Tony said, standing up. "Window, Jarvis." The large window opened onto the part of the roof that had been used the day before as a landing pad for the helicopter. Loki grabbed Sarah's hand and practically dragged her out.

"What are we..." Sarah began.

"Shhhhhhh," Loki said, mischief in his eyes. His clothes shimmered into an Earth-style suit, similar to the one he used to visit Thor when he was being held prisoner on Earth.

Loki dropped to one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket. "This is a loan, but Tony insisted that I would need to put this on your finger if you said yes. Marry me, Sarah," he said, looking up at her. "Marry me now, your way, before we go back to my world."

"Oh! Yes! Yes yes yes!" Sarah said, blushing. As she looked around, Loki waved his hand, and suddenly Thor, Steve, and Tony were all wearing tuxedos. He slipped the ring onto her finger. "Wait, now!? Really!?"

"Please?" Loki asked, still on his knee. Sarah looked down at her hand. Tony had lent him an emerald instead of a diamond. She smiled at Loki, then flashed a smirk at Tony.

"How did you..."

"Answer me," he said, smirking.

"Yes, of course now," she said.

Loki pulled her along to where Tony, Thor, and Steve were standing. Tony did a flare with his hands, and a pair of glasses, which he put on his face, along with some paperwork appeared, also seemingly from nowhere. "Jarvis, roll," Tony said, and soft, pretty music started to play.

"Do you, Sarah Warner, take Loki to be your lawfully wedded husband?" he asked.

"I do," Sarah said, eyes tearing up.

"And do you, Loki, take this...beautiful...mortal woman, Sarah, to be your lawfully wedded wife?" Tony asked.

"I do," he whispered, unable to take his eyes off of her.

"Well then," Tony said, stretching the words out. "You may...kiss...theeeeee...bride!"

Loki grabbed Sarah and literally swept her off of her feet, then kissed her passionately.

He put her down gently, then kissed her again.

Sarah looked at her hand, looked at Loki and everyone else, then said, "Explain. Now."

Loki laughed and Thor stepped forward. "In Asgard, you will need permission from All-Father before Loki can marry you."

Steve stepped forward. "Loki told us that he wanted to marry you here, because he wanted to bring you back with, how did you put it, Loki?" Steve asked.

Loki sighed. "I do not like you, Steve." He turned to Sarah. "I said that I wanted to marry you so that Odin could not claim I had done him a dishonor by...dishonoring...his...daughter."

Sarah felt the corners of her mouth twitch. "Tony?" she asked.

"Yes?" he answered, grinning like a schoolboy.

"Is this really all legal? All of it? Am I really married to Loki?" she asked him.

He walked over and handed Sarah the pen and paper that he had been holding. "Sign here," he said, pointing to a dotted line. She looked at Loki, who nodded. Sarah signed. "Now give it to him," Tony said, gesturing at Loki. She did. "Sign next to her name," he told Loki. Loki did, too. He handed it back to Tony. "As soon as I fax this to Pepper, yeah...you'll be married."

Sarah jumped and hugged Tony. "Thank you!" Then she turned to Thor and hugged him. "Thank you!" She turned to Steve and hugged him. "And thank you!" Then she turned to Loki.

"Why honor my area of my world's tradition? You have no respect for humanity," she stated. "I don't believe that Odin's opinion matters so much to you." She wanted to just go with the moment, but she knew she had to ask now, before she was completely swept off of her feet.

"I value you and you value these traditions. That will always be enough for me, my love." He picked her up again, and kissed her again, then he carried her back into Tony's suite.

"Uh, Loki?" Tony asked.

Loki turned back to the men outside and waved the hand that was under Sarah's legs. Their clothes all went back to what they had been wearing before the impromptu wedding. He turned back around and walked toward Tony's couch.

"How long have you been planning this?" Sarah asked as Loki placed her on the couch.

"Since this morning," he told her, smiling. "When you were sleeping, Thor asked me about my feelings for you, and your feelings for me. I told him I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. He flew here and ask Tony how difficult it would be for him arrange a...oh, how did you put it?" he asked, looking at Thor. "Ah, I recall, now. A 'binding legal contract,' I believe he called it. When you told him that your feelings for me mirrored mine...that was enough. He nodded to Tony, who pushed a few buttons and set all of this into motion."

"And WHY did you rush me through all of that instead of explaining when I asked?" she questioned. "Oh, and where did those papers come from?"

Tony spoke up. "I know a few magic tricks." Everyone turned to face him. "What? It's great for picking up women at parties."

Everyone laughed. Loki put Sarah on the couch, then walked back over to Tony. "Is it ready?" he asked.

"Jarvis? Is the picture ready?" Tony asked.

"Yes, sir. It's in the tray now."

Loki walked over to Tony's desk and snagged something out of the printer-tray. He handed it to Sarah, saying, "This is why everything was so rushed. I would have liked to explain more to you, but we did not want to miss the shot."

It was an 8x10 picture was framed perfectly by the setting sun. Everyone except Loki and Sarah were perfect shadows in the sunset, and Loki had just swept Sarah off her feet to kiss her. The snapshot was taken just before the kiss, while Sarah and Loki were looking into each other's eyes lovingly.

"That is...beautiful," Sarah said, almost crying.

"Yup," Tony cut in, snagging the picture from Sarah and looking at it. "Knew it would be. I know I have a frame for this somewhere," he said, shuffling things around on his desk. He opened a drawer, and pulled out a black frame. Everyone watched him carefully place the picture into it, then close it. "Here," he said, handing it back to Sarah.

She set it on the desk, then smiled, then looked at Loki, who was settling in next to her on the couch. "Here, Tony," she said, taking the ring off of her finger. "Take it back before I break it or lose it. I'm horrible with jewelery."

Sarah handed the ring back to Tony, who had changed from the tank top and pajama pants into a long sleeved gray shirt with jeans. Tony handed her back something a padded envelope.

"What's this?" Sarah asked. Loki eyed the envelope suspiciously.

Tony shrugged. "Open it."

Sarah opened the envelope, and inside it were two silver-looking rings. "What...?" she said, confused.

"They're platinum. See if they fit," Tony told her.

Sarah handed Loki his ring then put hers on. Both rings fit perfectly. "How did you...oh, never mind. I don't care anymore. Thank you all so much. Tony, how can I ever repay you?"

Tony shrugged, then smiled. "I might have an idea," he told her, grinning evilly at Loki.

* * *

Everyone was standing on the roof again, but this time Loki and Tony were very close to the edge. "Well, go on, then," Loki told him, clearly annoyed.

"Noooope. I am going to savor this," Tony said, staring over the edge of the roof, smiling while the wind blew through his hair. Then he made a gesture with his hands, and his Ironman suit came, seemingly out of nowhere. Tony made a gesture with his right hand, and shot Loki with a repulsor blast right in the chest. Loki flew off of the roof, screaming. "Ahh," Tony said. "That felt good." The men all laughed while Sarah shook her head, but she was smirking. Tony made another gesture with his hands, and his suit went back into whatever hidden closet or panel it had come from. He looked at Steve. "Don't tell Pepper, ok?" he said.

Steve nodded. "Yeah, no problem."

* * *

As they walked back inside, Sarah reached into her bra and pulled out the envelope of money. "Can you do something with this? Toss it under a bed or something?" she joked. "Seriously, though, would it be too much trouble for you to keep that safe for me? There is absolutely no one else I trust with it."

"Consider it done," Tony told her. She tossed it onto his desk on the way by, then took the elevator to the ground floor, where Loki would be.

* * *

Loki had left a small indent where he landed on the sidewalk, but he looked no worse for wear. Sarah offered him her hand, and he took it, but he really did not need it. "We really should stop meeting this way," he told her, grinning as he stood up.

Sarah smirked and shook her head, and they went back up to Tony's room in the elevator.

Everyone seemed to be waiting for Loki and Sarah to return. They all had steins in front of them, filled with what looked like a dark gold liquid.

"Beer?" Sarah asked.

"Mead!" Thor exclaimed, walking over to Sarah and Loki with a stein full of mead for each of them.

"A toast?" Loki asked, grinning.

"Are you sure you do not mind, Tony Stark?" Thor asked, raising his glass.

Tony waved his hand in a go-on gesture.

Loki smirked at Sarah, raising his glass. She followed suit.

"Today, I gain, not only a sister, but the ability to welcome my brother back into my family. Love is truly beautiful, and I hope that all of our surprises will be so pleasant!" Thor said, then chugged his mead. Everyone else in the room followed suit, with Thor and Loki finishing first, and slammed their glasses on the floor. Steve and Tony finished half a second later and slammed their glasses.

Sarah took another second, but she held her glass. Tony nodded at the floor, so Sarah shrugged and threw her glass at the floor. "ANOTHER!" she yelled. Everyone in the room laughed.

"What do you have for...less...strong drinks?" she asked Tony, already feeling tipsy.

He walked back to the bar and made her a madras, very light on the vodka. Everyone else helped themselves to more mead.

* * *

Many, many drinks later, it was after 2am, and Tony told everyone to go to bed. The party had been fun, and included many jokes at Loki's expense, (which he was strangely ok with) followed by many poker games. "I like this game," Loki remarked after his third successful bluff. He and Tony were frequently the last two people left, but they each won about the same amount.

As they left, Loki turned and held his hand out to Tony. Tony grabbed it and shook it. "Thank you, Tony Stark. You have a been more of a friend than I ever could have imaged. I am in your debt."

Tony shrugged uncomfortably. "Yeah, just...don't throw me off of anymore roofs, and we'll be even."

Loki smirked, but said nothing. Sarah elbowed him. "I promise to never throw you off of another roof." He looked at Sarah. "Ok?"

She smiled and nodded. They went to their room, Sarah clutching the picture frame while Loki put his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

Thor, Loki, and Sarah got a rather late start the next morning. It was time for them to go to Asgard.

Tony had been up for hours when they showed up at his suite. "You have breakfast?" he asked them.

They all shook their heads, but Thor explained, "No, it is generally ill advised to eat before traveling through dimensions."

"Alright, well...safe trip, I guess," he said, holding out a hand to Thor, who shifted Sarah's box a bit then shook his hand. He offered it to Loki, then Sarah. She was still in her dress from the night before. "Jarvis, open up that window."

"Where's Steve?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, Cap got called away rather suddenly," Tony lied.

Sarah shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about Steve missing his last chance to say goodbye to her. She was hurt, but she thought that she understood. Steve disagreed with her decision, so he was respecting her by staying away.

"Well, come on, then," Loki said, leading the way to the helipad. Thor followed, but Sarah hesitated.

"Thank you. Again," she said, to Tony, fiddling with her ring.

"Enough, come on, now. Go live your life, get out of here," Tony said, and he turned away from her toward his desk to continue working.

Smirking, she jogged a little to catch up to Thor and Loki.

Thor looked up and Loki drew Sarah to his side with his arm. "Heimdall?" Thor called, looking up.

Sarah felt the beam of light surround her, pulling her away from Earth. "Here we go, love," Loki told her. They disappeared.

"Jarvis, close the windows," Tony said, softly. "Oh, and tell Steve that it's safe for him to leave his room."

"Right away, Sir."

* * *

...to be continued...


End file.
